LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teen comedy "
American Pie 2" became the first movie since June to hold onto the No. 1 at the North American box office in its second weekend, completely untroubled by three newcomers.
According to studio estimates issued Sunday, the occasionally raunchy Universal
Pictures sequel cooked up $21.4 million for the three-day period beginning Friday, taking its 10-day haul to $87.6 million.
The last movie to repeat at No. 1 was "Pearl Harbor," which retained the box office crown during the June 1-3 weekend. Since then, 10 movies have opened at No. 1 and almost all of them lost more than half its audience in the second weekend, toppled by another popcorn flick with a saturation release plan.
Former box office champ "Rush Hour 2" (New Line) held steady at No. 2 with $19.2 million in its third weekend and a 17-day tally of $164.8 million.
The ensemble road comedy "Rat Race" did the best of the rookie trio, bowing at No. 3 with $11.8 million. The picture, follows a diverse cast, including Whoopi Goldberg and Cuba Gooding Jr., racing across the American desert for a $2 million bounty. It was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.
Among the other new releases, the Nicolas Cage wartime romance "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" (Universal) opened at No. 6 with $7.1 million, while the Jesse James adventure "American Outlaws" (Warner Bros.) staggered in at No. 8 with $4.8 million.
"Mandolin," which also stars buzzed-about Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, played to an audience that was 61 percent female and 79 percent over 30 years of age, said a Universal spokesman. It opened in Britain May 14 and performed moderately well despite awful reviews. It has also played in France, Belgium, Poland and Israel, and its overseas total stands at $14 million. Universal Pictures is a unit of Vivendi Universal.
"American Outlaws," starring Colin Farrell as legendary crook Jesse James, was targeted at a younger, male audience that already has plenty to choose from in the form of the top three movies, seventh-ranked "Planet of the Apes" and ninth-ranked "Jurassic Park III." Warner Bros. is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., which also owns "Rush Hour" distributor New Line Cinema.
Long summer
With summer winding down, the studios are clearing out their stragglers in order to prepare for the fall season when many "prestige" pictures with optimistic Oscar hopes enter the marketplace. New releases next weekend include director Kevin Smith's comedy "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," Woody Allen's "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion," the comedy "Bubble Boy," the thriller "Ghost of Mars" and the teen romance "Summer Catch."
The top 12 films this weekend totaled $103 million, the lowest score in 10 weeks. It was off 31 percent from last weekend, but up 19 percent from the year-ago period when the Jennifer Lopez thriller "The Cell" opened at No. 1 with $17.5 million.
Rounding out this weekend's top five were the Nicole Kidman thriller "The Others" (Dimension Films) which held steady at No. 4 with $10.8 million; and the family comedy "The Princess Diaries" (Walt Disney Pictures) which slipped two places to No. 5 with $9.5 million. "Legally Blonde" (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.), ninth last weekend, slipped to No. 10 with $2.6 million.
TOP 10
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures are to be released Monday.
1. "American Pie 2," $21.4 million
2. "Rush Hour 2," $19.2 million
3. "Rat Race," $11.8 million
4. "The Others," $10.8 million
5. "The Princess Diaries," $9.5 million
6. "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," $7.1 million
7. "Planet of the Apes," $6.9 million
8. "American Outlaws," $4.8 million
9. "Jurassic Park III," $4.3 million
10. "Legally Blonde," $2.6 million.
