Affleck-Bullock Teaming Proves a Forceful Combination

The romantic comedy “Forces of Nature” knocked “Analyze This” from the top of the box office in a generally lackluster Oscar weekend.

The movie, starring Ben Affleck as a strait-laced groom-to-be who falls for free-spirited Sandra Bullock on the way to his wedding, opened with a studio-estimated $13.9 million in ticket sales.

“Analyze This” took in an estimated $11.9 million, dropping to No. 2 in its third week. The mobster-in-therapy comedy with Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal held the top spot for two weeks.

Overall estimated box-office receipts for the week’s top 12 films totaled $58.1 million, down 25.4% from the same period last year, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Movie attendance for the first quarter generally has been down from last year.

This time last year the box office was still riding high on such Oscar nominees as “Titanic,” “Good Will Hunting” and “As Good as It Gets,” said Robert Bucksbaum of Reel Source Inc. Some analysts suggested that studios and theater owners gave up a ride on Oscar’s gravy train this year by replacing contenders with new releases.

The “Titanic” factor aside, it will be interesting to see whether the TV broadcast of the Oscars had any effect on Sunday’s take. The decision to switch the ceremony to Sunday prompted speculation that movie attendance would suffer a drop similar to that typically experienced on Super Bowl Sunday. (Final box-office figures will be released today.)

Only one Oscar-nominated film made it into the top 10: “Shakespeare in Love,” in ninth place with $2.8 million.

New releases had mixed results.

“True Crime,” with Clint Eastwood as a broken-down reporter on a crusade to save a condemned man, was No. 3 with $5.3 million. The animated version of the musical “The King and I” placed sixth with $4.1 million. But “Ravenous,” a tale of cannibalism in the Old West, opened out of the Top 10 with an anemic take of $950,000.

Among other movies, Sony’s modest expectations for “Baby Geniuses” continued to be exceeded. The film, about scientists who find that baby talk is more than it seems, was fourth with $4.5 million.

“Cruel Intentions” was in fifth place with $4.2 million.

“The Rage: Carrie 2,” a belated sequel to the 1970s horror movie, finished seventh at $3.6 million. The New York Chinatown gang story “The Corruptor” was next with $3 million. Both films saw their ticket sales dip nearly 50% from the previous week, as did the audience for “The Deep End of the Ocean.” The Michelle Pfeiffer film was in 10th place with $2.7 million.

“Wing Commander” plummeted out of the top 10, losing 59% of its audience in its second week to finish with $2.1 million.