‘Analyze This’ Far Ahead of Weekend Box-Office Pack

“Analyze This,” the mobster-in-therapy comedy with Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, held off a flood of new movies over the weekend to remain No. 1 at the box office for a second week.

Appealing to older audiences in a market full of teen fare, “Analyze This” collected $15.7 million, down just 15% from its debut weekend. That put it far ahead of the second-place film, the belated horror sequel “The Rage: Carrie 2,” which opened with $7.4 million.

“Cruel Intentions,” a mean-love-games story starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, tumbled 46% in its second week to finish third with $7 million, according to studio estimates for Friday through Sunday.

“Rage,” a follow-up to the original “Carrie” in 1976, led the five films that opened in wide release over the weekend. The other newcomers generated fair to lackluster business, and the box office overall was once again down--this time 6.3%--from the same weekend last year, when “Titanic” was sailing on to Oscar victories and record grosses.

One mild surprise was “Baby Geniuses,” which opened in fifth place with $5.8 million, despite unfavorable reviews.

“The Corrupter,” pairing Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-Fat with Mark Wahlberg, debuted with $5.9 million for fourth place; “The Deep End of the Ocean,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer, opened with $5.6 million for sixth, and the movie version of the computer game “Wing Commander” was seventh with $5 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were “The Other Sister,” which had $3.9 million for eighth place; “8MM,” which fell to $3.6 million for ninth, and “October Sky,” in 10th place with $3.1 million.