He wears a hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses and talks, thanks to special effects by Asylum and The Secret Lab! He's KANGAROO JACK, the down under comedy that hopped to the top of the box office heap this weekend, earning $17.6M in its debut. In second place was another new release, NATIONAL SECURITY, starring Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn, which debuted with $15.7M. Last week's number one film JUST MARRIED fell to third with $12.4M for a total $34M. Nine-time VES Award nominee LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, featuring primary visual effects by Weta Digital, is about to crack the $300M mark. Landing in fourth place this weekend with $11.4M, the fantasy feature has earned $299M to date. Dropping to fifth place, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, with visual effects by Asylum and a stylish animated opener by Nexus Prods., earned $11.3M, for a four-week total of $135M. Golden Globe-winner CHICAGO expanded into more theaters this weekend, giving the musical $8M for the weekend and a total cume of $27.7M. GANGS OF NEW YORK, which just picked up a best director Golden Globe for Martin Scorcese, dropped three spots to eleventh place, earning $4.1M for $61M to date. The film, which examines the violent history of New York City, is nominated for two VES Awards for the stunning matte painting and supporting visual effects by ILM. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
