'Anger Mangement' wins US box office

HOLLYWOOD, April 20 (UPI) -- The second weekend of "Anger Management" topped a moderate Easter weekend box office with an estimated $25.6 million at 3,570 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.

Sony's comedy, starring Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler, has now topped $80 million in grosses over its first 10 days. It declined 39 percent from its opening, which set a record for April.

"'Anger Management' is clearly drawing well across all demographics," said movie industry analyst Arthur Rockwell of Rockwell Capital Management. "When you have two big stars and decent material, it becomes a movie that everyone wants to see."

Rockwell said "Anger" probably will remain enough of a box office force to top $150 million by the end of its run.

"Anger" retained the top spot despite competition from three openers -- Disney's family drama "Holes" with $17.1 million at 2,331 sites, Warner Bros.' rap music comedy "Malibu's Most Wanted" with $13.1 million at 2,503 locations and MGM's crime-action drama "Bulletproof Monk" with $8.6 million at 2,955 theaters.

"It looks as if 'Holes' and 'Malibu's Most Wanted' were marketed pretty well and able to hit their target audiences," Rockwell noted. "Holes," based on the popular book of the same name and centered on a juvenile detention center, also benefited from generally strong reviews.

Overall business was solid with the first four films combining for $64.4 million and the top 10 totaled nearly $88 million. With attendance strong on Friday and worries about the war in Iraq receding somewhat, the remaining films in the top 10 managed to post relatively small weekend-to-weekend declines.

Twentieth Century Fox's third weekend of "Phone Booth" finished fifth with $5.7 million at 2,448 theaters, followed by Warner's third weekend of "What a Girl Wants" with $4.8 million at 2,930 sites and Disney's seventh weekend of "Bringing Down the House" with $3.3 million at 2,284 screens. "House" is the top grosser so far for 2003 with $122.7 million, placing it 173rd on the all-time list ahead of "Clear and Present Danger."

New Line's third weekend of "A Man Apart" came in eighth with $2.6 million at 2,174 sites as it fell 42 percent -- the biggest decline in the top 10. It edged Miramax's 17th weekend of "Chicago" with $2.5 million at 1,711 theaters as the Best Picture Oscar winner reached $160.7 million to leave it 90th on the all-time list ahead of "Die Another Day."

Lions Gate's second weekend of "House of 1,000 Corpses" took 10th with $2.4 million at 847 theaters. DreamWorks' fourth weekend of "Head of State" finished 11th with $2.3 million at 1,844 sites and a pair of offbeat openings tied for 12th with $2.2 million each -- Fox's Latino romantic comedy "Chasing Papi" at 585 locations and Warner's folk-music spoof "A Mighty Wind" at 133 sites.

Paramount Classics' second weekend of "Better Luck Tomorrow" posted strong returns $515,000 at 42 theaters to lift it total past $1 million. Fox Searchlight's "Bend It Like Beckham" continued to post solid numbers with $1.9 million at 392 theaters to lift its six-week total to $6.7 million.

If "Anger Management" leads again next weekend, it would match the three victories rung up by "Bringing Down the House" in March. Four other openings have been set -- New Line's "The Real Cancun," portraying spring break at a Mexican resort; Sony's thriller "Identity," with John Cusack; MGM's comedy-drama "It Runs in the Family," featuring Kirk and Michael Douglas; and Lions Gate's drama "Confidence," starring Edward Burns and Dustin Hoffman.