Weekend Box Office (March 9 - 11, 2001)

THIS WEEKEND Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts fended off competition from two new releases to top a slowing box office for the second consecutive time as their action-comedy The Mexican remained the number one film in North America with $12.2M, according to final figures. Down 39% from its debut weekend, the DreamWorks release has grossed $38.4M in ten days. With a production cost of $40M, The Mexican looks headed for a final domestic tally of $65-70M.

Opening in second place was the Robert De Niro-Ed Burns action film 15 Minutes with $10.5M from 2,337 theaters. The New Line release about a pair of New York City cops hunting down media-savvy killers averaged a moderate $4,503 per location. Critics were not kind to 15 Minutes as Entertainment Weekly gave it a D grade.

Dropping 32% to $6.6M was the family film See Spot Run. Produced for $15M, the Warner Bros. title has grossed a respectable $18M in ten days and may finish with roughly $35M.

Hannibal chomped its way through the $150M mark over the weekend with $5.8M take. The MGM/Universal joint venture has taken in $151.5M domestically and also surpassed the $100M hurdle overseas. Hannibal now ranks as the third-biggest domestic release in MGM history behind Oscar winners Gone With The Wind (just under $200M lifetime from multiple releases) and 1988's Rain Man ($172.8M).

Paramount's hit comedy Down to Earth continued its healthy run dropping only 29% to $5.6M. The Chris Rock-Regina King picture has grossed $51.1M to date.

Debuting poorly in seventh place was the high school comedy Get Over It with $4.1M from 1,742 locations. Averaging a weak $2,374, the Miramax film about a young guy who falls for his best friend's sister stars Ben Foster and Kirsten Dunst.

After a strong performance in January and February, the box office is beginning to contract in March as moviegoers are becoming less excited by Hollywood's latest offerings. The first two months of the year saw ticket sales that were well ahead of last year. However, this month may not measure up its 1999 and 2000 counterparts given the commercial appeal of upcoming titles. Two years ago, Analyze This, Cruel Intentions and Forces of Nature were registering solid grosses while last year Erin Brockovich, Mission to Mars, and Romeo Must Die kept audiences in the cinemas.

Best Picture nominees continued to draw crowds by witnessing the smallest declines in the top ten. Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon slipped 13% to $4.3M for a stellar $94.5M cume. The narcotics drama Traffic dipped 12% to $3.9M bringing its total to a fantastic $97.5M. Chocolat collected $3.8M, off only 9%, and lifted its sum to $51M. Rounding out the top ten was the family film Recess: School's Out which fell 42% to $2.3M and a $30.6M cume.

A pair of disappointing Warner Bros. releases fell out of the top ten. The action film 3000 Miles to Graceland stumbled in its third weekend losing more than half of its audience. The Kurt Russell-Kevin Costner vehicle has taken in a dismal $14.5M in 17 days and should end its run with only $16-18M. Sweet November, starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron, has collected $23.4M to date and looks headed for a $24-26M final.

Compared to projections, both 15 Minutes and Get Over It debuted a few notches below my respective forecasts of $15M and $8M. The Mexican was close to my $13M prediction.

The top ten films grossed $59.3M which was down 3% from last year when Mission to Mars opened at number one with $22.9M; and down 4% from 1999 when Analyze This remained in the top spot with $15.6M.


Take this week's NEW Reader Survey on who will win the Oscar for Best Actor. In last week's survey, readers were asked whether 15 Minutes would open at number one. Of 1,627 responses, 66% voted yes while 34% correctly said no.

Read the Weekly Rewind column which reports on the top March openings. For a review of 15 Minutes visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Exit Wounds and Enemy at the Gates open.

Marketplace: Shop for videos, DVDs, music, books, and electronics at discounted prices using search engines

# Title Mar. 9 - 11 Mar. 2 - 4 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Dist.
1 The Mexican $ 12,244,750 $ 20,108,829 -39.1 2,959 2 $ 4,138 $ 38,394,913 Dream Works
2 15 Minutes 10,523,154 2,337 1 4,503 10,523,154 New Line
3 See Spot Run 6,612,720 9,715,102 -31.9 2,656 2 2,490 17,979,088 Warner Bros.
4 Hannibal 5,847,287 10,051,008 -41.8 2,947 5 1,984 151,462,923 MGM
5 Down to Earth 5,587,061 7,815,382 -28.5 2,521 4 2,216 51,090,387 Paramount
6 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 4,256,899 4,906,007 -13.2 1,756 14 2,424 94,512,927 Sony Classics
7 Get Over It 4,134,977 1,742 1 2,374 4,134,977 Miramax
8 Traffic 3,938,085 4,475,069 -12.0 1,678 11 2,347 97,543,804 USA Films
9 Chocolat 3,843,988 4,200,052 -8.5 1,928 13 1,994 51,027,559 Miramax
10 Recess: School's Out 2,308,781 3,961,773 -41.7 2,339 4 987 30,600,367 Buena Vista
11 O Brother, Where Art Thou? 1,705,723 1,940,193 -12.1 826 12 2,065 33,103,683 Buena Vista
12 Cast Away 1,554,438 2,073,578 -25.0 1,289 12 1,206 225,901,006 Fox
13 The Wedding Planner 1,407,134 2,203,626 -36.1 1,223 7 1,151 57,254,767 Sony
14 3000 Miles to Graceland 1,225,337 3,110,377 -60.6 1,933 2 634 14,547,063 Warner Bros.
15 Sweet November 1,221,319 2,275,493 -46.3 1,624 3 752 23,367,580 Warner Bros.
16 Save the Last Dance 1,075,866 1,415,477 -24.0 1,023 9 1,052 86,025,145 Paramount
17 Pollock 767,009 667,160 15.0 155 4 4,948 2,747,673 Sony Classics
18 Carman : The Champion 430,613 769,080 -44.0 223 2 1,931 1,308,110 8X
19 Finding Forrester 400,574 655,716 -38.9 363 12 1,104 50,590,601 Sony
20 What Women Want 373,209 523,232 -28.7 395 13 945 180,186,830 Paramount
Top 5 $ 40,814,972 $52,596,328 -22.4
Top 10 59,297,702 70,619,092 -16.0
Top 20 69,458,924 82,705,037 -16.0
Top 20 vs. 2000 69,458,924 78,999,166 -12.1

Last Updated : March 13, 2001 at 7:30AM EST