'Phone Booth' tops box office

HOLLYWOOD, April 6 (UPI) -- The opening of action-thriller "Phone Booth" topped a moderate weekend at the nation's box office with an estimated $15 million at 2,481 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.

The 20th Century Fox release, starring Colin Farrell as a man pinned down in a phone booth by a mysterious sniper, had scheduled to open last fall but was delayed due to the sniper attacks in the Washington area. And for the second weekend in a row, the box office leader's total was the lowest since "Darkness Falls" led with $12 million during Super Bowl weekend.

Expectations for strong box office performance were lowered due to many Americans focused on the war in Iraq along with Saturday's telecast of semifinals in NCAA college basketball. "Phone Booth," which was shot in a mere 10 days by director Joel Schumacher, appeared to reap the benefit of the strongest reviews of any wide release film in the last two weeks.

Warner Bros.' opening of teen comedy "What a Girl Wants," starring Amanda Bynes as an American teen seeking her long-lost British father, finished a close second with $12.1 million at 2,964 theaters as it was able to tap its core audience of young female moviegoers. The marketing campaign received unexpected publicity last week due to the studio's decision to avoid controversy by changing the image of Bynes in the movie's main poster so that she was no longer giving a peace sign.

New Line's opening of crime drama "A Man Apart," starring Vin Diesel as a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, posted moderate results in third with $11.2 million at 2,459 theaters. Diesel scored strongly last summer with the hit "XXX" but expectations were not as high for "A Man Apart," which received mostly negative reviews.

Holdover comedies took the next two spots with last weekend's winner, "Head of State," in fourth with $8.8 million at 2,155 sites as it dropped 35 percent in its second weekend for DreamWorks, followed by Disney's fifth weekend of "Bringing Down the House" with $8.5 million at 2,910 theaters. The Steve Martin-Queen Latifah vehicle, which dropped only 32 percent, has gone past $111 million overall and is the top grossing film released this year.

Paramount's second weekend of science-fiction thriller "The Core" followed in sixth with $6.3 million at 3,019 sites as it lost 48 percent. "The Core" beat Sony's second weekend of military mystery "Basic" with $5.4 million at 2,876 sites as the latter slid 53 percent from its opening weekend.

Miramax's "Chicago" came in eighth with $5.3 million at 2,385 theaters, a decline of only 26 percent as the musical continued to benefit from winning the Best Picture Oscar plus five other Academy Awards. "Chicago" has now grossed $152.2 million in 15 weeks and ranks as the 103rd highest domestic performer ahead of "Runaway Bride."

MGM's fourth weekend of "Agent Cody Banks" followed closely with $3.7 million at 2,331 sites to lift its 24-day total to $40 million. And Disney's third weekend of "Piglet's Big Movie" rounded out the top 10 with $3 million at 2,021 theaters, declining 39 percent.

Warner Bros.' third weekend of "Dreamcatcher" fell from sixth to 11th with a steep 60 percent decline to $2.6 million at 2,360 theaters. Focus' "The Pianist" continued to reap the rewards of its three Oscars as it finished 12th with $2.2 million at 925 theaters, lifting its total to $26.6 million.

Overall business was lukewarm as the top 10 grossed about $79 million, or $10 million short of the same weekend last year when "Panic Room" led with $18.2 million.

Fox Searchlight's "Bend It Like Beckham" continued to perform well with $1.2 million at only 117 sites to lift its total to $2.6 million. But Miramax's opening of its comedy "Dysfunktional Family" generated little interest with $1.1 million 602 theaters.

Fox Searchlight also saw impressive results for its limited release of "The Good Thief," a heist drama starring Nick Nolte, with $137,600 at nine theaters.

Sony Classics' offbeat drama "Levity," with Billy Bob Thornton, took in only $32,900 at 10 screens but its Finnish comedy "The Man Without a Past" performed well with $25,300 at two theaters.

Box office results should improve next weekend when Sony opens "Anger Management," a comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. Rivals have backed away from the date, leaving "Anger" as the only wide opening.