‘Spy Kids’ Avoids Bite of the ‘Spider’

A flurry of new releases failed to topple “Spy Kids” from its perch atop the weekend box-office chart. The family comedy starring Antonio Banderas grossed $17.1 million to remain No. 1 for the second week in a row.

The R-rated Morgan Freeman thriller “Along Came a Spider” came in a strong second with $16.7 million in ticket sales and a healthy per screen average of $6,606. It was followed by the R-rated drug-themed Johnny Depp film, “Blow,” which grossed $12.4 million.

The kids’ animated film “Pokemon 3: The Movie” showed that there is still life in that franchise, pulling in $8.2 million for fourth place.

But the Christina Applegate comedy “Just Visiting” debuted out of the top 10, languishing with just $2.3 million.

With overall box office hovering around $2 billion so far this year, compared with $1.73 billion last year, Hollywood is optimistic about the approaching summer.

“I think we will be 14% to 17% ahead of last year heading into the summer,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co., Inc. “Last Memorial Day was huge with ‘Mission: Impossible 2,’ but we’re going to have ‘Pearl Harbor’ this year and the overall slate of films this year looks incredibly strong.”

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Spy Kids” $17.1 3,133 2 (Dimension) $48.3 $5,451 2. “Along Came a Spider” $16.7 2,530 1 (Paramount) $16.7 $6,606 3. “Blow” $12.4 2,249 1 (New Line) $12.4 $5,533 4. “Pokemon 3: The Movie” $8.2 2,675 1 (Warner Bros.) $8.2 $3,081 5. “Someone Like You” $5.3 2,349 2 (Fox) $17.8 $2,277 6. “Heartbreakers” $5.0 2,708 3 (MGM) $30.0 $1,850 7. “Enemy at the Gates” $3.4 1,724 4 (Paramount) $39.2 $1,945 8.”The Brothers” $3.0 1,307 3 (Sony/Screen Gems) $22.5 $2,300 9.”Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” $2.82 1,628 18 (Sony Classics) $117.5 $1,732 10.”Tomcats” $2.81 2,617 2 (Sony/Columbia) $11.0 $1,074 “Just Visiting” $2.3 1,590 1 (Disney/Hollywood) $2.3 $1,429

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.