Weekend Box Office

The Cell rode the bountiful booty of Jennifer Lopez and other dazzling eye candy to $17.5 million from 2,411 theaters. The performance was on par with New Line stable mate Blade, which opened to $17.1 million from 2,322 theaters on the same weekend two years ago (though around $19 million adjusted for inflation).

Though it was the best debut of Lopez' career, the rumored billion-dollar insurance policy on her prodigious booty is all the more bizarre when even the less distinct barmaid booty of Coyote Ugly opened to $17 million as well. With its focus on grizzly and music video-style imagery over the script, The Cell divided audiences, suggested by a 7% Saturday dip and only 69% favorable rating, likely leading to precipitous drops in the future.

Day-amn! The Original Kings of Comedy had $11.1 million worth of ticket buyers whooping it up at 847 theaters. The concert film averaged $13,051, easily the highest of the top 60 and was one of the most impressive openings of the year given the genre, relatively low star power and limited release. Apparently, the synergistic promotion that Paramount got from fellow Viacom subsidiary MTV worked, despite not being terribly funny. Shot on digital video, it cost just $3 million to make and marks the largest debut for a Spike Lee-helmed flick, just ahead of Malcolm X with $9.9 million in 1992. Then again, this taping of the four sitcom stars' tour wasn't really one of his "joints" in the fullest sense. Kings is also further evidence of the viability of the urban market, which, largely ignored before, has borne such hits as Big Momma's House, Shaft and The Nutty Professor II this season alone.

Godzilla's latest razing of Japan raised $4.4 million from 2,111 theaters, landing in eleventh place. Though Sony spent just $1 million for the domestic rights and $12 million on the prints and advertising, the rubber-suited one's grosses will likely take a dive given the front-loaded niche audience, making profit minimal at best.

Space Cowboys again were flying high on the lowest decline of the wide releases. Down just 27% to $9.5 million and $53.8 million to date, the crowd-pleasing curmudgeons avoided the fatigue that usually sets in for this kind of picture in its third frame. Among sophomores The Replacements was the only one to stay in the game, as the football comedy gave up 35% of its yardage to $7.2 million and $23.4 million to date.

The Nutty Professor II became the twelfth picture of the year to cross the century mark after consuming $6.3 million, bringing its total to $104.3 million. At this same point last year 13 pictures had reached this milestone and that's with a lower average ticket price, $5.08 vs. today's $5.25.

Theaters playing Hollow Man were 54% emptier with $6 million and $61.6 million to date, enough to make the $95 million thriller to go from first to seventh place. Meanwhile, plagued by poor word-of-mouth Autumn in New York and Bless the Child each lost half their audience to $5.5 and $4.8 million respectively.

Chicken Run cleared that $100 million fence last Monday. With $902,870 this weekend, it's total reached $101.8 million, nudging past The Prince of Egypt to be not only DreamWork's highest grossing family picture, but also the top non-Disney animated feature of all time.

The top twelve pictures totaled $86.7 million, down 10% from last weekend and down 3% from the same frame last year when The Sixth Sense topped the chart for the third weekend in a row with $24 million.