Spike Lee’s ‘He Got Game’ Outscores ‘Angels,’ ‘Big Hit’

Basketball beat out romance and comedy as director Spike Lee’s “He Got Game” stole the top box-office spot in its opening weekend from previous champ “The Big Hit.”

“He Got Game,” starring Denzel Washington and real-life NBA player Ray Allen in a story about a convicted felon’s relationship with his talented basketball-playing son, took in an estimated $8.1 million in its first weekend, according to preliminary figures released Sunday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

“City of Angels,” starring Nicolas Cage as an angel who has to choose between immortality and life as a human with heart surgeon Meg Ryan as his love interest, remained in second with $6.6 million.

“The Big Hit,” an action-comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips and Antonio Sabato Jr., dropped from first to third place in its second weekend with $6 million in domestic receipts.

“Les Miserables,” starring Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman and “Shine’s” Geoffrey Rush in the Victor Hugo classic, opened at No. 4 with $5.3 million.

Another new release, “Black Dog,” with Patrick Swayze and Meat Loaf in an action story about truckers who keep on trucking, was fifth with $4.5 million.

The Oscar-winning “Titanic” and “Paulie,” a children’s story about a talking bird, tied for sixth with $4.1 million. “Titanic,” in its 20th week of domestic release, has collected a total of $565 million in the U.S. and Canada. It tied for third the previous weekend.

No. 8 was another love story, “The Object of My Affection,” starring Jennifer Aniston of “Friends” as a pregnant woman in love with a gay man. It was in its third weekend in release.

“Lost in Space,” based on the 1960s television series, dropped from fifth the previous weekend to ninth with $3.2 million, followed by “Sliding Doors,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow, which earned $1.65 million.

“Wilde,” a new release with Stephen Frye as the playwright Oscar Wilde, had the highest per-screen average, $9,296, for a total of $65,000 on seven screens in its opening weekend.

Final figures will be released today.