'Hardball' No. 1 at Box Office

LOS ANGELES (AP)LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Hardball'' played just that, remaining the nation's No. 1 movie as ticket sales plunged on the lowest grossing weekend so far this year.

The Little League drama starring Keanu Reeves took in $8.2 million in its second weekend of release for a total of $19.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Glitter,'' the only new movie opening in wide release, made a paltry $2.5 million and failed to register in the top 10. The movie stars Mariah Carey as a pop diva on the rise.

"It's disappointing,'' said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox, said of the opening. "With the climate in this country, I don't think I know quite what's going on.''

Overall, estimated weekend ticket sales for the top dozen films was $44.2 million, a 15 percent drop from last weekend and about 7 percent lower than the same weekend a year ago. It was the worst weekend for studios since Sept. 15, 2000.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, said jitters from the recent terrorist attacks, a lack of new movies and the Friday night celebrity telethon kept movie audiences away. Nearly 60 million Americans watched the telethon benefitting victims of the attacks.

"There were more stars in that than in any film in the marketplace,'' Dergarabedian said.

"`The Others,'' a supernatural thriller starring Nicole Kidman, was the No. 2 movie with $5.2 million. The movie, in its seventh week of release, climbed the charts from the No. 5 spot last week. It has made $80.2 million and was the only movie in the top 10 whose receipts rose over the weekend.

"This is obviously an indication it is a word-of-mouth favorite,'' said David Kaminow, senior vice president of marketing for Miramax.

"Rush Hour 2,'' starring Jackie Chan, was in its eighth week on the Top 10 list and has amassed nearly $216 million.

Among other openers, "Megiddo: The Omega Code 2'' was the No. 13 movie, making $1.5 million. The biblical thriller topped all films with average of $4,800 in sales for each of its 314 screens.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations:

1. "Hardball,'' $8.2 million
2. "The Others,'' $5.2 million
3. "The Glass House'' $4.4 million
4. "Rush Hour 2,'' $3.7 million
5. "The Musketeer,'' $3.5 million
6. "Two Can Play that Game,'' $3.2 million
6. (tie) "Rock Star,'' $3.2 million
8. "Rat Race,'' $3 million
9. "Jeepers Creepers,'' $2.8 million
10. "American Pie 2,'' $2.6 million