'Stuart Little 2' tops modest box office

HOLLYWOOD, July 21 (UPI) -- The opening of "Stuart Little 2" won a surprisingly moderate weekend at the nation's box office with an estimated $15.6 million at 3,255 theaters for the Friday-Sunday period, edging the second weekend of "Road to Perdition," studio sources said Sunday.

Overall business, which had been well above the record-setting 2001 pace, was off significantly with the top 10 combining for about $96 million, well short of the $130 million for the same weekend last year when "Jurassic Park 3" led with $50.8 million. But movie going should rebound next weekend as New Line opens "Austin Powers in Goldmember" against only one other new film -- Disney's family comedy "The Country Bears."

"Goldmember" is expected to put the business back on its record-setting track. Despite this weekend's dampened numbers, the 2002 year-to-date total of $5.1 billion remains 17 percent ahead of the same point last year.

Box office trackers had expected higher performance by Sony's "Stuart Little 2," bringing back the elements to its surprise 1999 hit about a talking mouse. The original "Stuart Little" opened with $15 million but caught on in the following weeks and grossed $140 million by the end of its run.

Expectations for "Stuart Little 2" had also been boosted by solid returns for other family fare this summer such as Warner Bros.' "Scooby-Doo" and Disney's "Lilo & Stitch," which have combined for about $280 million over the past five weeks. "It may have been a case of bad timing on the release date because there was already so much product out there aimed at kids," said industry analyst Arthur Rockwell of Rockwell Capital Management.

DreamWorks' second weekend of "Road to Perdition" finished second with $15.57 million at 2,159 theaters, down only 29 percent from its opening weekend. With less than $300,000 separating the first two films, positions could be reversed when final numbers are released on Monday.

The studio had added 362 theaters to "Road," and its per-location average of $7,212 was 50 percent higher than the figure for "Stuart Little 2." "The numbers for 'Road to Perdition' indicates that it's perceived as a quality film that may do very well over the long run," Rockwell said.

Sony's third weekend of "Men In Black 2" came in a close third with $15 million at 3,641 theaters, giving it a 19-day total of $158.6 million. The sequel has moved into 84th place on the all-time list ahead of "The Firm."

Paramount's opening of Cold War submarine drama "K-19: The Widowmaker" opened unimpressively in fourth with $13.1 million at 2,828 theaters despite an extensive marketing campaign that relied on Harrison Ford's star power. The studio said it retains optimism about the movie since audiences rated the film highly but Rockwell said he doubted the subject matter would attract significant numbers in coming weeks.

"I don't think that the submarine genre is something that gets a lot of people excited any more," he added.

Sony's fourth weekend of "Mr. Deeds" followed in fifth with $7.3 million at 2,823 sites, edging out Disney's second weekend of "Reign of Fire" with $7.1 million at 2,629 theaters and Warner's modest opening of science-fiction comedy "Eight Legged Freaks" starring David Arquette, with $6.7 million at 2,530 sites. "Mr. Deeds" has now grossed $107.6 million in 24 days, reaffirming Adam Sandler's ability to draw fans of comedies.

Miramax's second weekend of "Halloween: Resurrection" posted moderate business in eighth with $5.4 million at 2,094 theaters as the eighth version of the franchise fell 56 percent from its opening weekend.

Disney's fifth weekend of "Lilo & Stitch" followed in ninth with $5.1 million at 2,127 sites to boost its overall total to $128.5 million while MGM's second weekend of "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course" finished 10th with a disappointing $4.8 million at 2,525 sites as the comedy-adventure lost 50 percent from its opening weekend.

20th Century Fox's fifth weekend of "Minority Report" followed in 11th with $4.4 million at 1,672 sites, edging its third weekend of "Like Mike" with $4.3 million at 1,790 theaters and Universal's sixth weekend of "The Bourne Identity" with $3.9 million at 1,634 screens.

Fox's 10th weekend of "Star Wars: Episode 2 -- Attack of the Clones" took in $1.1 million at 562 theaters to move its 67-day total to $295.7 million and about $10 million short of "Independence Day" for 12th place on the all-time list.

On the art-house circuit, Miramax's comedy "Tadpole" opened strongly with $80,000 at six theaters. Lions Gate's drama "Lovely and Amazing" grossed $550,000 at 110 sites, as the distributor added 98 screens. IFC Films' "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" continued to perform well with $2.5 million at 531 theaters to boost its total to $30.9 million.