With live-action film ERIN BROCKOVICH staying firm at #1, the new special effects enhanced action flick, ROMEO MUST DIE, finished at #2 in the U.S. box office. In its first week in release, the new Jet Li film brought home US$18.01 million. Opening in theatres Wednesday, March 22, the Warner Bros.' martial arts pic has made a total of $24.6 million. The teen terror pic, FINAL DESTINATION, stayed dead still at third, grossing $7.22 million. The New Line flick has made a total of $20.4 million in two weekends of release. MISSION TO MARS, with primary special effects by ILM and Dream Quest Images, makes its slow descent down the box office charts landing at #4. The Buena Vista release grossed another $5.72 million, bringing its cume to $49.2 million. On the weekend that it brought home the Oscar for best picture, AMERICAN BEAUTY brought home another $4.02 million in ticket sales. The DreamWorks tale has made $108.5 million thus far in the States. The newest journey into Satanic mischief from Roman Polanski fell to 11th over the weekend. THE NINTH GATE, with primary special effects by Sony Imageworks and Mikros Image, grossed $1.93 million, bringing its total to $15.6 million. With about a month to go until it is released in theatres around the U.S., the Imax epic FANTASIA/2000 finished the weekend at #12 making $1.33 million and bringing its cume to $35.9 million. This weekend marked SIXTH SENSE's rise to the tenth spot of all time at the U.S. box office. The Buena Vista film, with visual effects by DreamQuest, made another $1.28 million bringing its grand total to $290.3 million. Other special effects laden or animation films finishing in the top thirty were: SNOW DAY at #14, with a gross of $950,000 and a cume of $57.8 million; THE TIGGER MOVIE at #15, with a gross of $880,000 and a cume of $43 million; PITCH BLACK at #18, with a gross of $610,000 and a cume of $37.6 million; THE GREEN MILE at #22, with a gross of $460,000 and a cume of $135.1 million; STUART LITTLE at #23, with a gross of $400,000 and a cume of $138.8 million; SLEEPY HOLLOW at #28, with a gross of $240,000 and a cume of $100.3 million; and TOY STORY 2 at #30, with a gross of $220,000 and a cume of $242.2 million. Box office reports obtained on Lyco's ShowBIZ data base.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
