The urban drama 8 MILE, starring rap artist Eminem, took in a surprising $54.4M in its debut weekend, bumping last week's number one THE SANTA CLAUSE 2 down a notch. The family-friendly CLAUSE 2, with visual effects by Tippett Studios and GVFX, earned $28.4M for a two-week total of $60.1M. Psychological thriller THE RING, with visual effects by Method Studios, Rhythm & Hues, Asylum and Tippett Studios, moved to third, with $16M for a cume of $86.1M. Action-comedy I SPY, with visual effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks, added another $9M for a two-week take of $24.7M and fourth place. GHOST SHIP, with visual effects by Photon VFX, continues to drift, dropping to eighth place with $3.1M for $26.1M. ATTACK OF THE CLONES THE IMAX EXPERIENCE is still bringing in big-screen fans averaging $22,000 per screen to maintain fourteenth place and grossing $1.3M for a two-week total of $3.3M. JONAH: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE is winding up its release, dropping to sixteenth place with $1.1M and $24.7M total. Next weekend sees the first of many big holiday releases, when HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS hits the big screen. Box office information obtained from yahoo.com and boxofficemojo.com.
