Epic fantasy THE LORD OF THE RINGS, with primary visual effects by WETA, ruled as the number one film for the third week in a row, nabbing another $23M this weekend to break the $200M mark after just 18 days. The AFI honored RINGS as "Film of the Year" this weekend and it has earned $205.5M after just 19 days in theaters. The drama A BEAUTIFUL MIND, with primary visual effects by Digital Domain, claimed the number two spot, with $17M in its first week of wide release. The film, which is inspired by the life of schizophrenic mathematician John Nash, has earned $38.2M after three weeks. Rat Pack redux OCEANS ELEVEN, with visual effects by E=mc2 and Cinesite, is still pulling in an audience, slipping just one spot to third and earning $11.7M for a five-week cume of $152.7M. Nickelodeons JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS looks to be a big success for the studio. Dropping just one spot to fourth with $9.2M for the weekend, the CG animated flick has earned $62.5M after three weeks. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERERS STONE, with visual effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues, took a big tumble from last weekend, falling four spots to ninth place with $6.1M for the weekend. But Warner Bros. shouldnt be too worried, as the fantasy flick still managed to break the $300M mark after just eight weeks in release. MONSTERS, INC. is hanging on in tenth place, with $4M this weekend for a cume of $244.8M. The weekends only new film in wide release, the sci-fi thriller IMPOSTOR, with visual effects by ILM, couldnt even crack the top twelve, earning just $3.2M for unlucky 13th place. Next week look for the U.S. release of the French film THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, with animatronic characters from Jim Hensons Creature Shop.
According to AccessHollywood, the success of SHREK, MONSTERS, INC. and now JIMMY NEUTRON helped animated features earn box office grosses of over $755M in 2001. A record!
