'Stuart Little' Takes Aim At Mob Movie

In a lackluster weekend at the movies, a sequel starring a talking mouse tied last week's movie about a vengeful mob hitman for the top spot at the box office.

"Stuart Little 2," which features the voice of Michael J. Fox, debuted with $15.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. That was a whisker ahead of "Road to Perdition." The Depression-era gangster tale starring Tom Hanks grossed $15.57 million in its second weekend.

Rankings could change when final numbers are released later Monday.

Laurie Hibberd reports for The Early Show on Hollywood's worst performance this summer. Two highly anticipated movies, "Stuart Little 2," and the latest Harrison Ford movie "K-19: The Widowmaker" both opened to just modest business.

"Men in Black 2" continued to do well in third place with $14. 8 million.

The new Harrison Ford submarine movie surfaced in fourth with just $13.1 million. Distributor Paramount had expected the movie would be in the $18 million to $20 million range. "Mr. Deeds" hung on to the fifth spot with $7.3 million.

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"The top 12 films grossed $104.4 million for Friday through Sunday. That was down 23 percent from the same weekend last year and broke a string of six straight weekends of rising revenues.

"This communal momentum that's been pushing people toward theaters wasn't there this weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "That's not to say this was a bad weekend. It just wasn't remarkable."

The giant-bug flick "Eight Legged Freaks," starring David Arquette, was seventh with $6.7 million, pushing its total to $9.3 million since opening Wednesday.

"Tadpole," a comedy hit at the Sundance Film Festival, opened strongly in limited release, taking in $80,000 at six theaters. Starring Sigourney Weaver, John Ritter and Bebe Neuwirth, the film recounts a precocious teen-ager's romantic longing for his stepmother.

The original "Stuart Little" debuted with $15 million just before Christmas in 1999, then held on weekend after weekend and became a $140 million hit.

Because "Stuart Little" was a known franchise, industry executives had expected the sequel to gross as much as $25 million in its first weekend.

Playing in 3,255 theaters, "Stuart Little 2" averaged a modest $4,793 a cinema, compared to a $5,218 average for the original film.

"Road to Perdition" expanded to 2,159 theaters, up 362 from opening weekend, and averaged $7,212. Its 10-day total stands at $47.5 million.

Studio executives expect the overall box office to bounce back next weekend when "Austin Powers in Goldmember" hits theaters.

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

• "Stuart Little 2," $15.6 million and "Road to Perdition," $15.6 million.
• "Men in Black II," $15 million.
• "K-19: The Widowmaker," $13.1 million.
• "Mr. Deeds," $7.3 million.
• "Reign of Fire," $7.1 million.
• "Eight Legged Freaks," $6.7 million.
• "Halloween: Resurrection," $5.4 million.
• "Lilo & Stitch," $5.1 million.
• "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course," $4.8 million.