The Unsinkable <i>U-571</i>
A flurry of new films failed to sink the submarine thriller U-571 this weekend.
The Matthew McConaughey World War II drama managed to stay afloat in the box office's top spot for the second week in a row, reports CBS Early Show Contributor Laurie Hibberd.
U-571 earned $12.3 million in its debut last week and brought in over $20 million this weekend.
In its debut, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, the second live-action comedy based on the TV cartoon series, came in second with $10.8 million and took in less than the original film did on its opening weekend.
"That's what happens with sequels," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution. "It's a little family film, and our expectations were fulfilled."
Frequency, a cross-genre tale of time travel and murder, hit the right tone with audiences, premiering at number three with just over $9 million.
Dennis Quaid who fell out of favor with moviegoers for a while, is back as a dead fireman in a heartwarming story between father and son. Jim Caviezel stars as his policeman-son and the two communicate via time-traveling radio waves as they track a serial killer.
"It works on the science-fiction level, it's got a little bit of Sixth Sense'in it, it's a family picture and a murder mystery all at the same time," said David Tuckerman, executive vice president of distribution for New Line, which released Frequency.
Like Sixth Sense, it is expected to open modestly and build to box-office success.
Where the Heart Is, a melodrama about an abandoned teen-age mother starring Ashley Judd and Natalie Portman, was in fourth place with $8.3 million.
Love and Basketball rounded out Hollywood.com's top five with $5.5 million.
Rounding out the top ten were: Rules of Engagement, $4.8 million; Keeping the Faith, $4.6 million; 28 Days, $4 million; Erin Brockovich, $3.8 million; and Final Destination, $2.5 million.
Two new movies scored well in limited release. The experimental Time Code had a solid debut, grossing $95,000 and averaging an impressive $13,571 in seven theaters. Directed by Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas), Time Code was shot by four digital cameras in single, 93-minute takes and plays out on four separate frames on screen.
Kevin Spacey's The Big Kahuna opened in eight theaters and took in $88,000 for an $11,000 average. Danny DeVito and Peter Facinelli co-star in the story of three salesmen at ideological odds as they try to land a big customer at a convention.
Time Code and Big Kahuna expand to more theaters over the next two weeks.
Disney's Fantasia 2000 ended its four-month run at most large-screen Imax theaters with $63.8 million worldwide and one week left in Japan. The movie begins a four-week engagement at regular theaters June 16.
The big bttle starts next week when the first of the expected summer blockbusters - Gladiator - hits the big screen.
Next weekend is shaping up as the unofficial kickoff to the summer blockbuster season, with John Travolta's lastest release, Battlefield Earth - billed as a "Scientology" movie - joining the Roman spectacle Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe, at the box office.
"This is the calm before the storm," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. "The summer starts in earnest next week, when you'll get new movies every weekend looking for bigger and better results."