Carell reigns supreme with $32 million 'Almighty' debut

LOS ANGELES -- Steve Carell proved not nearly as all-powerful as Jim Carrey.

"Evan Almighty," with Carell taking over for Carrey in a follow-up to the comedy smash "Bruce Almighty," debuted a solid No. 1 with $32.1 million, though that was less than half the $68 million opening of its predecessor, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Released by Universal, "Evan Almighty" has Carell as a new congressman instructed by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark for a coming flood.

Carrey's "Bruce Almighty" was an adult comedy, while the PG-rated "Evan Almighty" was aimed at a family crowd, which could give it longer shelf life, said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal.

"Family films have an incredible ability to just play and play," Rocco said. "I'm very optimistic about it playing out over the course of the summer."

The Stephen King adaptation "1408," a Weinstein Co. horror tale with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson in the story of a man trapped in a hotel room with malevolent spirits, debuted in second place with $20.175 million.

Paramount Vantage's "A Mighty Heart," starring Angelina Jolie as the wife of kidnapped and slain journalist Daniel Pearl, had a so-so debut, coming in at No. 10 with $4 million.

Unlike most of today's blood-soaked horror flicks, "1408" offered a mix of psychological chills and engaging characters, said Bob Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co. and an executive producer on the film.

"The movies I grew up on were like 'The Exorcist,' 'The Omen,' 'Poltergeist.' Those were a combination of the supernatural and they kept the audience involved in the characters. That was the old-school, basic scary movie. This one is more in that vein," Weinstein said.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the 20th Century Fox sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," finished just behind "1408" with $20.15 million, raising its 10-day total to $97.6 million.

Like last month's "Spider-Man," "Shrek" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels that opened big then took huge drops in subsequent weekends, revenue for "Fantastic Four" fell a steep 65 percent in the movie's second weekend.

Universal's comedy "Knocked Up" maintained strong word-of-mouth among audiences, pulling in $10.6 million, down just 24 percent from a weekend earlier. Ranking No. 5, "Knocked Up" raised its four-week total to $109 million.