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'House' maintains top box office spotWar keeps some North American moviegoers at home
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- "Bringing Down the House," a comedy starring Academy Awards host Steve Martin and Oscar nominee Queen Latifah, ruled the North American box office for the third weekend in a row, but the Iraqi war sent overall business to its lowest level in almost two months. According to studio estimates issued Sunday, hours before the 75th Academy Awards are due to take place in Hollywood at 5:30 p.m. PST, "Bringing Down the House" sold about $16.2 million worth of tickets for the three days beginning March 21. The total for the Walt Disney Co. release rose to $83.4 million, and company executives hope it will reach the $120 million-$130 million range. The last film to top the box office for three consecutive weekends was "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" in December/January. Martin stars as an uptight lawyer whose dull existence is enlivened by a fugitive played by Queen Latifah (Oscar-nominated for "Chicago"). Combined ticket sales for the top 12 films tallied $84 million, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The total represented a 7 percent decline from last weekend and a 29 percent slide from the year-ago period. The last time receipts were this low was the January 24-26 weekend when the top 12 amounted to $80 million. Potential moviegoers stayed at home, "searching their hearts and being with their families," said Rick Sands, chief operating officer of Disney's Miramax Films unit. New releases take a knockMiramax released one of this weekend's four new releases, the female-targeted Gwyneth Paltrow comedy "View from the Top," which opened at No. 4 with a modest $7.6 million. The top new entrant was "Dreamcatcher," a horror film starring Morgan Freeman. It opened at No. 2 with $15.3 million, in line with the diminished expectations of its studio, Warner Bros. Pictures. The film's core male audience was likely distracted by televised coverage of the war. "I think we lost a couple of million dollars, but it's hard to tell," said Dan Fellman, president of distribution at the AOL Time Warner Inc.-owned studio. AOL Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.com. Potential male moviegoers also stayed away from "Boat Trip," a cruise-ship comedy that opened at No. 10 with $3.7 million. The film, starring Cuba Gooding Jr., was released by closely held Artisan Entertainment. Among movies already in release, the male-skewing ones took the biggest hits. "The Hunted," an action drama starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro, fell two places to No. 5 in its second weekend with $6.6 million, a 51 percent drop. The film was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc . The Bruce Willis military thriller, "Tears of the Sun", tumbled four places to No. 8 in its third weekend with $4.5 million, down 48 percent. It was released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp.. The fourth new arrival was the low-budget Disney cartoon "Piglet's Big Movie," which bowed at No. 7 with $6.1 million, which studio executives were happy with. Leading Oscar contender "Chicago" was the least affected by the depressed conditions. The Miramax musical slipped one place to No. 6 in its 13th weekend with $6.2 million, down just 12 percent. The film's total rose to $134 million. With 13 nominations, including picture and director, the film is the odds-on Oscar favorite. If indeed it does snag the top prizes, Miramax's Sands hoped it would finally draw the hitherto-resistant demographic of males under 25, a group not known for embracing period musicals with messages. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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