'Black Hawk Down' posts second straight box-office victory

LOS ANGELES -- Movie-goers remain on combat alert. The frenzied military thriller "Black Hawk Down" held the top spot at the box office for a second straight weekend, taking in $18.2 million.

The No. 2 slot shaped up as a photo finish between Cuba Gooding Jr.'s canine comedy "Snow Dogs" and pop singer Mandy Moore's weepy teen romance "A Walk to Remember," according to studio estimates Sunday.

Distributor Disney estimated "Snow Dogs" grossed $13.6 million in its second weekend, while Warner Bros. estimated "A Walk to Remember" debuted with $13.57 million.

"Mandy's certainly been a star in the recording studio and she's now a real deal moving on to the big screen," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner.

Other top films were bunched up tightly, and their rankings could change when studios release final weekend figures Monday.

According to Sunday estimates, the Richard Gere supernatural thriller "The Mothman Prophecies" debuted at No. 4 with $11.8 million.

Fresh off its success at the Golden Globes a week ago, "A Beautiful Mind" held well at No. 5 with $11.7 million, virtually unchanged from the previous weekend. "A Beautiful Mind" dominated the Globes with four awards, including best dramatic film, lead dramatic actor for Russell Crowe and supporting actress for Jennifer Connelly.

Audiences split

The latest remake of "The Count of Monte Cristo," starring Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce, opened at No. 6 with $11.5 million.

"All these films are evenly splitting the audience," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "Movie-goers are interested in all these films to some degree, and the demographics are just being split between all these movies."

After a limited debut in December to qualify for the Oscars, "I Am Sam" expanded to wider release and grossed $8.3 million, finishing at No. 7. Starring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer, "I Am Sam" is the story of a mentally retarded man fighting for custody of his daughter.

The weekend's other wide debut, the martial-arts spoof "Kung Pow! Enter the Fist," opened at No. 9 with $7.3 million.

The top 12 movies grossed $115.3 million, up a whopping 56 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when the Super Bowl dampened movie-going. Studios expect a similarly slow time during next weekend's Super Bowl.

"I Am Sam" had the best per-theater take among the top 10 films, averaging $6,565 in 1,268 theaters, followed by "Black Hawk Down" with a $5,869 average in 3,101 theaters. "Black Hawk Down," director Ridley Scott's intense rendering of a 1993 U.S. raid gone awry in Somalia, has grossed $60.1 million in 10 days of wide release after a narrow debut in December for Oscar consideration.

In limited release, Italian director Nanni Moretti's "The Son's Room," which won top honors at last spring's Cannes Film Festival, debuted strongly with $45,000 in one theater.

Writer-director Todd Solondz's black comedy "Storytelling" opened well in four New York City and Los Angeles theaters, taking in $82,000 for a $20,500 average. The film expands to more cities Feb. 8.