LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teen comedy "
American Pie 2" showed it had the recipe for success as it topped the box office for a third consecutive week, only the third film all year to do so, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.
The R-rated film, released by Universal Pictures, a unit of French media giant Vivendi Universal, dished up $12.8 million in its third weekend, bringing its cumulative box office receipts to $109.6 million.
This year, only two other films - "Hannibal" and "Spy Kids" - have managed to maintain the top slot at the box office for three weekends running, according to box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. "It's a fitting way to end the summer season at Universal," said Nikki Rocco, president of Universal Pictures Distribution.
Including "American Pie 2," the studio has opened four consecutive $40 million-plus movies, including "The Mummy Returns," "The Fast and the Furious" and "Jurassic Park III."
Ranking No. 2 for a second week in a row was the Chris Tucker-Jackie Chan action-comedy "Rush Hour 2," by New Line Cinema, which pulled in $11.4 million for the Friday to Sunday period and $183.6 million to date since opening earlier this month. New Line is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc. . Both "Rush Hour 2" and "American Pie 2," which revolves around the summer hijinks of five sex-obsessed males, faced competition from a slew of new movies released this week by studios attempting to pack theaters in typical end-of-summer fashion.
The top 12 films this weekend grossed about $82.5 million, down about 20 percent from last weekend's $103.3 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.
Five new films were released, ranging from Warner Bros.' romantic comedy, "Summer Catch," starring teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr., to the very unromantic "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," by director Kevin Smith.
"Jay and Silent Bob," ranked No. 3 with $11.1 million in box office receipts, and brought back Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) who show up repeatedly in Smith's movies as twentysomething slackers with little to do except hang out and smoke dope.
In "Strike Back," released by Walt Disney Co.'s Dimension Films, the two learn that someone in Hollywood is making a movie about two comic book characters based on them, prompting the slackers to head west seeking revenge and money.
"Summer Catch" ranked sixth with $7.5 million, while another newcomer aimed at teens, "John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars" came in at nine with $3.8 million.
"The Others," a Dimension-released thriller starring Nicole Kidman maintained the No. 4 position, raking in $8.6 million, while Universal's World War II romance "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," starring Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz slipped from No. 6 to No. 8 with $3.9 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were the comedy "Rat Race," released by Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, ranking fifth, as well as Disney's summer sleeper hit "The Princess Diaries" (7) and director Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes," which fell to 10 from seven, pulling in $3.5 million.
USA Weekend Box-Office Estimates (08/24-08/26)
"Planet of the Apes" was released by Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc
1 "American Pie 2," $12.8 million.
2 "Rush Hour 2," $11.4 million.
3 "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," $11.1 million.
4 "The Others," $8.6 million.
5 "Rat Race," $8.3 million.
6 "Summer Catch," $7.5 million.
7 "The Princess Diaries," $6.7 million.
8 "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," $3.9 million.
9 "John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars," $3.8 million.
10 "Planet of the Apes," $3.5 million.
