Despite total box office numbers being down (once again), that didn’t stop the critically lambasted Jane Fonda/Jennifer Lopez comedy "Monster-in-Law" from grabbing the top spot with a better-than-expected haul of $24 million on 3,400 screens. Also debuting in fine financial form was the Will Ferrell sports comedy "Kicking & Screaming," which effortlessly earned second place with a tally of $20.8 million on approximately the same number of screens.
Knock $10 million off of #2 and you have the third place winner, Jet Li‘s "Unleashed," which made $10.5 million on just under 2,000 screens. Rounding out the top five were last weekend’s "Kingdom of Heaven," which grossed $9.6 million (to bring its grand total to $35 million), and "Crash," which continues to do quiet-yet-strong business on less than 1,900 screens. The racially charged Lions Gate drama made $7.2 million, bringing its total to just under $20 million.
The final flick to make its debut this weekend was the long-delayed FBI thriller "Mindhunters," which debuted in 10th place and was able to gross only $2 million on 1,000 screens. This coming Thursday sees the release of a quiet little arthouse flick that just may be able to make some solid coin. It’s called "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith." As always you can dig deeper into the filmic finance by visiting the Rotten Tomatoes Box Office page!
