Box office victory for 'Head of State'

HOLLYWOOD, March 30 (UPI) -- The opening of Chris Rock's political comedy "Head of State" topped the nation's box office with an estimated $14 million at 2,151 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.

The DreamWorks release, with Rock portraying an unexpected presidential candidate, took in the lowest gross for a box office leader since "Darkness Falls" led with $12 million during Super Bowl weekend.

Expectations were lowered for the weekend because of the many Americans focused on the war in Iraq -- along with coverage of regional finals in NCAA college basketball.

"It looks as if the TV coverage of the war and the overall mood of uncertainty took away a significant part of the potential audience for movie-going," said industry analyst Arthur Rockwell of Rockwell Capital Management. "I'd say the number for 'Head of State' is respectable, because it looks as if it was able to get its core audience to see it."

Reviews were mixed for "Head of State," also starring Bernie Mac. Rock also directed the film.

Another comedy, "Bringing Down the House," finished a close second with $12.5 million at 2,910 theaters as the Steve Martin-Queen Latifah vehicle hit the $100 million mark on Sunday, its 24th day of release by Disney. The weekend represented a decline of only 23 percent from its third weekend.

"The success of 'Bringing Down the House' underlines how well a comedy can do when it's perceived by audiences as delivering on its promise," Rockwell noted.

The weekend's other two major openers vied for third with Paramount's science-fiction thriller "The Core" taking in $12.4 million at 3,017 theaters and Sony's military mystery "Basic," starring John Travolta, with $12.1 million at 2,876 sites.

"Those are decent numbers, but below what they might have done on a more typical weekend," Rockwell added.

Even with four films topping $12 million, overall business was moderate as the top 10 totaled $83 million. That was $26 million behind the same weekend last year when "Panic Room" led with $30.1 million.

Miramax's "Chicago" came in fifth with $7.4 million at 2,701 theaters, a rise of 20 percent from its previous Friday-Sunday, as the musical benefited from winning the Best Picture Oscar plus five other Academy Awards. "Chicago" has now grossed $144.9 million in 14 weeks and ranks as the 111th highest domestic performer after "American Pie 2."

Warner Bros.' second weekend of "Dreamcatcher" fell from second to sixth with a steep 58 percent decline to $6.4 million at 2,945 theaters.

MGM's third weekend of "Agent Cody Banks" followed closely with $6.1 million at 2,786 sites to lift its 17-day total to nearly $35 million.

Disney's second weekend of "Piglet's Big Movie" came in eighth with $4.6 million at 2,084 theaters, declining only 25 percent. Miramax's second weekend of "View From the Top" with $3.8 million at 2,508 sites, dropping 46 percent from its opening.

Paramount's third weekend of "The Hunted" continued to fade in 10th with $3.7 million at 2,244 screens, as the Tommy Lee Jones action-adventure declined 44 percent.

Focus Features' "The Pianist" finished 11th with $2.5 million at 733 theaters as the drama posted a 142 percent gain in ticket sales following its Oscar wins for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. "The Pianist" has grossed $23.6 million overall.

Disney saw moderate business from its re-launch of "Spirited Away," which won the animation Oscar, with $1.6 million at 711 theaters. The Japanese project had been playing at only seven screens last weekend.

Paramount's "The Hours," which won a Best Actress Oscar for Nicole Kidman, took in $765,000 at 506 sites to push its overall total to $40.1 million. Best foreign film winner "Nowhere in Africa" grossed $291,000 at 33 theaters for Zeitgeist.

Fox Searchlight's "Bend It Like Beckham" continued to perform well with $611,000 at 46 sites to lift its total to $1.1 million.

On Saturday, Paramount's "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" became the first film released in 2003 to top $100 million. Its gross for its eighth weekend hit $1.9 million at 1,176 theaters to lift its total to $101.1 million.

"Head of State" and "Bringing Down the House" will see competition next weekend from a trio of openers -- Warner's teen comedy "What a Girl Wants," starring Amanda Bynes; New Line's drug-agent drama "A Man Apart," starring Vin Diesel; and 20th Century Fox's "Phone Booth," centered on a sniper attacking a man in a phone booth.

"Phone Booth" was delayed from last fall because of the sniper attacks in the Washington region.