Olympics Lure Away Audiences

The televised Olympic Games from Sydney, Australia, hurt movie attendance as the Keanu Reeves thriller “The Watcher” topped the charts for the second week with a paltry $5.8 million. The Jamie Foxx action film “Bait” debuted in second place with $5.5 million.

The only big winner at the box office was Cameron Crowe’s rock-themed coming-of-age film “Almost Famous,” which took in $2.3 million on only 131 screens for a strong per-screen average of $17,669. The Gwyneth Paltrow ensemble film about karaoke bars, “Duets,” opened in 10th place with $2 million.

“Urbania,” “Into the Arms of Strangers” and “Crime + Punishment in Suburbia” also opened in limited release.

Weekend Box Office

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Watcher” $5.8 2,745 2 (Universal) $17.4 $2,115 2. “Bait” $5.5 2,352 1 (Warner Bros.) $5.5 $2,332 3. “Bring It On” $5.1 2,427 4 (Universal) $50.9 $2,095 4. “Nurse Betty” $4.7 1,469 2 (USA Films) $13.6 $3,171 5. “Space Cowboys” $2.5 2,461 7 (Warner Bros.) $82.2 $1,022 6. “What Lies Beneath” $2.45 2,007 9 (DreamWorks) $145.6 $1,199 7. “The Cell” $2.4 2,250 5 (New Line) $55.0 $1,088 8. “Almost Famous”* $2.3 131 1 (DreamWorks) $2.4 $17,669 9. “Scary Movie” $2.04 1,997 11 (Dimension) $151.8 $1,021 10. “Duets” $2.0 581 1 (Disney/Hollywood) $2.0 $3,447 “Urbania” $72,129 10 1 (Lions Gate) $72,129 $7,213 “Into the Arms of Strangers” $32,037 5 1 (Warner Bros.) $32,037 $6,407 “Crime + Punishment in Suburbia” $9,893 5 1 (United Artists) $9,893 $1,979

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* Opened Wednesday

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.