Not surprisingly, Sydney Pollack‘s "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, took the #1 box office spot in its opening weekend. But while analysts predicted the flick would easily land in the top spot, the movie opened even stronger than expected. "The Interpreter" hauled in $22.8 million in over 2,700 theaters.In second place was "The Amityville Horror," which dropped about 40% in its sophomore weekend, but still snagged an extra $14 million. Paramount’s "Sahara" is still chugging along, pulling in $9m in its third weekend, while the Ashton Kutcher comedy "A Lot Like Love" debuted in 4th place with just over $7.5m. Rounding out the top five is "Kung Fu Hustle," which expanded from seven screens to 2,500, and raked in a solid $7.2 million. Released with little fanfare and no press screenings was the Anthony Anderson comedy "King’s Ransom," which debuted in tenth place with an anemic $2.2m. Next week marks the unofficial opening of the "summer" movie season, with two wide releases battling for supremacy: "XXX: State of the Union" and the long-awaited "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy." For a closer look at the multiplex numbers, make a stop at the Rotten Tomatoes Box Office Page!
