Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring" edged out "A Beautiful Mind" to win the nation's weekend box office for its fourth consecutive title with an estimated $16.2 million at 3,381 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday. "Lord of the Rings" lost only 29 percent from its $23 million third weekend and has now totaled an impressive $228.3 million in its first 26 days for New Line. It already ranks as the 27th highest domestic grosser, topping "Rush Hour 2" to become New Line's all-time top performer. Advertisement Universal's fourth weekend of "A Beautiful Mind" finished a close second with $15.8 million at 2,222 theaters as the studio expanded by 369 locations. Despite dealing with offbeat themes such as schizophrenia and mathematics, "A Beautiful Mind" showed impressive drawing power as its weekend total was down only 5 percent. Advertisement Both "Rings" and "Beautiful Mind" received a boost on Thursday when they picked up best picture nominations from the Producers Guild of America along with "Moulin Rouge," "Shrek" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." On Friday, "Mind" also won a best picture trophy from the Broadcast Film Critics Association along with stars Russell Crowe as best actor and Jennifer Connelly at best supporting actress. Paramount's opening weekend of teen comedy "Orange County," starring Colin Hanks and Jack Black, posted a solid start in third with $15.1 million at 2,317 sites. The studio noted that "Orange County" had been made through its partnership with MTV and that 80 percent of the audience was under 21. With the three leaders taking in $47 million, overall business was healthy with $83 million from the top 10. The year-ago period saw sizzling business, partly due to the Monday celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday being celebrated a week earlier as "Save the Last Dance" led with $27.5 million and eight other films topped $10 million over the four days. Advertisement With this year's King holiday observance set for Jan. 21, the upcoming weekend could also see strong performances from holdover films. It will also feature openings from Disney family comedy "Snow Dogs" and 20th Century Fox's "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist," in which a Hong Kong karate film has been revamped for comic effect. Additionally, Sony will go wide with war drama "Black Hawk Down," which drew powerfully with $725,000 at 16 theaters. This weekend's remaining top 10 slots were taken by 2001 releases, led by Warner's sixth weekend of "Ocean's Eleven" with $7.5 million at 2,670 theaters to push its 38-day gross to $162.5 million. "Eleven" now ranks 76th overall ahead of "The Waterboy" on the all-time list. Disney's fifth weekend of Oscar hopeful "The Royal Tenenbaums" followed in fifth with $6.4 million at 905 theaters, up 154 from last weekend. Paramount's fourth weekend of "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" finished sixth as it continued to draw family audiences with $5.5 million at 2,810 sites to push its 24-day total past $69 million. Paramount's fourth weekend of "Vanilla Sky," showing at 2,770 sites, and Miramax's third weekend of "Kate & Leopold," at 2,467 locations, tied for seventh with $5 million each. "Sky" has underscored with the drawing power of star Tom Cruise by taking in nearly $89 million in a month despite mixed reviews and a hard-to-categorize theme. Advertisement USA Films' expanded run of critical hit "Gosford Park" cracked the top 10 in ninth place with $3.8 million at 518 theaters. The Robert Altman comedy-mystery edged out Warner Bros.' ninth weekend of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with $3.4 million at 2,170 theaters. The 59-day gross for "Harry" has hit $305 million so it will likely finish its run as the seventh highest domestic performer ever ahead of "The Lion King" at $312.8 million, "The Return of the Jedi" at $309 million and "Independence Day at $306 million. Sony's third weekend of "Ali" continued to see sharp declines in 11th place with $3.2 million at 2,521 theaters, down 54 percent from its second weekend. The biographical drama has taken in $54.4 million overall but looks likely to fade quickly from view unless it receives Oscar nominations next month. Miramax's expansion of thriller and Oscar contender "In the Bedroom" performed well in 12th with $3 million at 424 theaters. Universal's limited opening of action-adventure "Brotherhood of the Wolf" posted respectable results with $473,000 at 21 theaters.
