HOLLYWOOD, June 17 -- 'Lara Croft' easily tops US box office The opening of action-adventure "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" easily dominated the nation's box office with an estimated $48.2 million at 3,308 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.
Paramount's massive publicity campaign paid off with a debut that was at the top end of Hollywood's expectations to give it the third best June opening ever and the fourth best of this year after "The Mummy Returns," "Pearl Harbor" and "Hannibal." The marketing for the film relied heavily on star Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar last year for Best Supporting Actress in "Girl, Interrupted."
The film, which carried a PG-13 rating, benefited from the popularity of the video game of the same name and moviegoers mostly overlooked the mixed reviews that "Lara Croft" received. About 55 percent of patrons were male.
Finishing a distant but respectable second was the nationwide opening of Disney's cartoon "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" with $20.4 million at 3,011 sites after rolling out at two screens last weekend. The figure was not a surprise as forecasts had been tempered in recent weeks that "Atlantis" was unlikely to become another megahit for Disney on the order of "The Lion King" or the "Toy Story" films.
Industry tracker Arthur Rockwell of Rockwell Capital Management said the performance by "Atlantis" was disappointing in light of Disney's strong tradition of animated hits and recent work force cuts at the studio's animation unit. "Putting out good animated films is a key part of the value of Disney," he said.
DreamWorks' fifth weekend of its computer-animated "Shrek" continued to show box office power in third place with $12.9 million at 3,319 theaters to lift its 31-day total to $197.2 million. "Shrek," which lost only 22 percent from the previous weekend, will soon become the second DreamWorks film after "Saving Private Ryan" and the 34th in history to pass the $200 million milestone.
"Shrek" grossed $42.3 million on its opening weekend, or more than double "Atlantis."
"The success of 'Shrek' shows that there is clearly an audience for animated movies," Rockwell said.
Last weekend's leaders, Warner Bros.' "Swordfish," followed in fourth with $12.2 million at 2,688 theaters to push its 10-day total past $39 million. The action-thriller dropped only 32 percent from its opening weekend and looks likely to take in another $30 million by the end of its run.
Disney's fourth weekend of "Pearl Harbor" continued to post solid numbers in fifth with $9.5 million at 3,140 locations. The take boosted the epic's 24-day total to $160 million, making it the 70th highest domestic grosser ever.
DreamWorks' second weekend of "Evolution" plunged to sixth with $6.5 million at 2,613 theaters as the comedy lost 51 percent from its opening weekend.
Sony's third weekend of "The Animal" showed some staying power in seventh with $5.7 million at 2,741 to boost its 17-day total past $45 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were 20th Century Fox's fifth weekend of "Moulin Rouge" with $5.2 million at 2,091 locations, MGM's third weekend of "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" with $2.8 million at 1,927 sites and Universal's seventh weekend of "The Mummy Returns" with $2.4 million at 1,777 screens. "The Mummy Returns" has grossed $193.2 million in 45 days.
Sony's sixth weekend of "A Knight's Tale" finished 11th with $750,000 at 925 theaters, followed by Miramax's 10th weekend of "Bridget Jones's Diary" with $715,000 at 666 screens.
Fox Searchlight posted strong opening numbers for its gangster comedy "Sexy Beast" with $180,695 at nine theaters while Lions Gate's debut of "Songcatcher," a drama about Appalachian music, pulled in $42,000 at seven sites.
With four films over $12 million, overall business was solid with about $128 million, up 35 percent from last weekend and 30 percent from the same weekend last year. Year-to-date business has hit about $3.2 billion and is up about 7 percent over the same time last year.
"Lara Croft" will face competition next weekend from openings of Fox's "Dr. Dolittle 2" and Univesal's racing drama "The Fast and the Furious."
