‘Anaconda’ Slithers Into the Top Box-Office Spot

“Anaconda” squeezed “Liar Liar” out of the No. 1 box-office spot with $16.5 million in weekend ticket sales, according to industry estimates Sunday.

Though it received its share of harsh reviews, the movie about monster serpents in the Amazon opened well enough to finally dump Jim Carrey’s hit comedy into second place with a $14.3 million gross.

“The snake was there,” said Ed Russell, executive vice president of publicity for Columbia-Tristar.

The film co-stars Jennifer Lopez--star of the hit movie “Selena”--and rapper Ice Cube. They may have helped lure ethnic and young audiences, Russell surmised.

“Anaconda” had little competition in the action-adventure genre, whose big guns are being saved for summer. Val Kilmer’s “The Saint” did creditable business, winding up in third place with $11.2 million.

The other big-name action film, “Double Team,” starring Claude Van Damme and basketball star Dennis Rodman, sank to eighth place with $2.1 million--a 58% drop in its grosses.

Coming weeks will tell whether “Anaconda” has legs. “Liar Liar” already has shown its staying power. The movie about a slick lawyer forced to tell the truth for 24 hours saw only a 22% dip in its ticket sales from the previous weekend, considered good for major films.

It had the biggest March opening ever and was the first new movie of the year to break the $100 million mark. It now has grossed $119.8 million in four weeks, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Another new film, “Grosse Pointe Blank,” was fourth with $7 million. The black comedy stars John Cusack as a professional killer who returns to his hometown for a high school reunion.

The Harrison Ford-Brad Pitt drama “The Devil’s Own” had $4.3 million for fifth place, followed by “That Old Feeling” with about $3.5 million.

Tim Allen’s comedy “Jungle 2 Jungle” continued its strong showing with a seventh-place take of $2.3 million in its sixth week.

The reissue of the recent horror film “Scream” did surprisingly well, earning $2 million for ninth place.

“Return of the Jedi,” the last installment of the 20-year-old “Star Wars” trilogy, tied with the basketball comedy “The Sixth Man” for 10th place with $1.7 million each.

Three films debuted in limited release. “Paradise Road,” starring Glenn Close in a drama about women POWs of the Japanese during World War II, grossed $61,000 while the murder mystery “Keys to Tulsa” earned $29,630. “Cosi,” an Australian comedy about mental patients putting on a production of a Mozart opera, grossed $20,000.

Final weekend box-office figures were to be released Monday.