'BlackHawk' tops US box office again

HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- War drama "Black Hawk Down" won a second easy victory at the nation's box office with an estimated $18.2 million at 3,101 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.

The Sony project, heavily promoted as a potential Academy Awards contender, showed impressive drawing power following its surprisingly strong $33.6 million performance over the previous Friday-Monday when it first moved into nationwide release. "Hawk," which has now topped $60 million overall, picked up momentum with a Directors Guild of America nomination for Ridley Scott last week.

The first-place finishes for "Black Hawk Down," a re-creation of the 1993 rescue of Marines in Somalia, underscores the potential drawing power of films with military themes. "Hawk" dominated a healthy weekend with five other films finishing with over $11 million.

Disney's second weekend of family comedy "Snow Dogs" led the rest of the pack with $13.62 million at 2,440 theaters to push its 10-day total to $39.3 million.

Warner Bros.' opening of teen romance "A Walk to Remember," starring pop singer Mandy Moore, finished a close third with a solid $13.56 million at 2,411 locations. The film, which reportedly cost a modest $10 million, drew young female fans and churchgoers attracted by the religious themes as Moore's character portrayed a minister's daughter.

Sony's opening of supernatural thriller "The Mothman Prophecies," starring Richard Gere and re-creating events in West Virginia in 1979, followed in fourth with $11.8 million at 2,331 theaters. Costs were estimated at a moderate $15 million for the film.

Universal's sixth weekend of "A Beautiful Mind" finished fifth with $11.7 million at 2,237 theaters as the drama continued to benefit from its status as a serious Academy Awards contender. "Mind," which has totalled $93 million in 38 days, received an additional boost last week from winning four Golden Globe awards and director Ron Howard being tapped for a DGA nomination.

Disney's opening of "The Count of Monte Cristo," with Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce in the latest re-telling of the Alexandre Dumas story, came in a respectable sixth with $11.5 million at 2,007 theaters amid mixed reviews. New Line's expanded release of "I Am Sam," starring Sean Penn as a mentally disabled father, followed with $8.3 million at 1,268 theaters.

With the flurry of new films and the expanded runs for Oscar contenders, New Line's sixth weekend of "Lord of the Rings" fell from third to eighth with a still-impressive $8 million at 2,703 sites as the epic moved out of 563 locations. "Rings" has now totalled $258.7 million to rank as the 17th highest domestic grosser, topping "Batman."

20th Century Fox's opening of spoof "Kung Pow! Enter the Fist," with a karate film revamped by director Steve Oedekerk for comic effect, came in ninth with $7.3 million at 2,476 theaters. Fox's costs were reportedly under $10 million.

Paramount's third weekend of teen comedy "Orange County" followed with $4.6 million at 2,317 sites to push its 17-day total past $34 million.

Universal's "Brotherhood of the Wolf" continued to perform well in limited release with $1.6 million at 290 theaters. Fine Line's opening of Todd Solondz's dark comedy "Storytelling" debuted strongly with $82,000 at four screens as did Miramax's Italian drama "The Son's Room" with $45,000 at one theater in Los Angeles.

With the top six films taking in over $83 million and the top 10 at $108 million, overall business was solid and far better than the year-ago weekend, when "The Wedding Planner" led with $13.5 million and the top 10 took in about $66 million as the Super Bowl dampened moviegoing.

With this year's Super Bowl set for next weekend, only two major releases will open -- Miramax's "Birthday Girl" with Nicole Kidman portraying a Russian mail order bride and Sony's teen comedy "Slackers."