Cage’s new movie tops box office
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Cage’s “National Treasure” debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie with $35.3 million, coming in just ahead of “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” which opened in second with $33.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
After two weekends in the No. 1 spot, the animated superhero tale “The Incredibles” slipped to third with $26.8 million. The film has made $177.8 million in three weeks.
Tom Hanks’ Christmas adventure “The Polar Express” came in fourth with $15.2 million in its second weekend. Costing $170 million to make, the movie has had a cool reception from audiences, taking in $51 million in 10 days.
After a healthy $8.7 million debut in narrower release of 530 theaters a week earlier, Renee Zellweger’s “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” had a so-so expansion, taking in $10.1 million in 2,450 cinemas. A sequel to the 2001 romantic comedy hit, the movie came in at No. 5.
Hollywood had a second straight weekend of rising revenues after a slump that lasted most of the fall. The top 12 movies grossed $144.8 million, up 15 percent from the same weekend last year.
Industry officials hope the strong revenues provide a good springboard into Thanksgiving, one of Hollywood’s busiest weekends. A crowd of family films — including Tim Allen’s “Christmas With the Kranks,” opening Wednesday — should prove a powerful draw over the long holiday weekend, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
“With this many family films, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” Dergarabedian said. “‘The Incredibles’ is going to be a huge factor, ‘Spongy’ is going to be a huge factor. Even ‘Polar Express,’ which people were trashing on, will be a factor because it’s a holiday movie.”