‘Jeopardy’ Plays a Winning Hand With Adult Audiences

“Double Jeopardy” did triple time at the box office as the film about a wife done wrong took in $13.6 million to remain the No. 1 movie for the third straight weekend, according to estimates Sunday.

The film, starring Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones, trumped another movie about marital betrayal. “Random Hearts,” with Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas as unlikely lovers thrown together after their cheating spouses die in a plane crash, debuted in second place with $13.1 million.

“Superstar,” with Molly Shannon in a big-screen take on her “Saturday Night Live” character Mary Katherine Gallagher, opened in fifth place with $9 million.

“Three Kings,” the tale of American soldiers on a treasure hunt at the end of the Gulf War, dropped one spot to third place with $11.7 million in its second weekend. “American Beauty,” a dark satire on suburban family relations, was No. 4 with $9.2 million.

“Double Jeopardy,” which has grossed $65.8 million in 17 days, and “Random Hearts” competed for the adult date crowd. Both movies drew well with men and women and played strongly to moviegoers 25 and older.

“It shows that when adult audiences are sort of galvanized toward a movie, the results can be very positive,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks movie-ticket sales. “It’s not just the 18-to-24 crowd that runs the box office.”

“Double Jeopardy” had an edge because it’s more of an action film than “Random Hearts.” In “Double Jeopardy,” Judd plays a woman out for revenge against her husband, who faked his own death and framed her for murder.

“It has a lot of action for men, and the story appeals to women. Women love to get revenge,” said Robert Bucksbaum, a box-office analyst for Reel Source Inc. “There’s universal appeal for men and women.”

“Random Hearts,” directed by Sydney Pollack, overcame poor reviews and drew a bigger female crowd than male. Ford stars as a cop trying to unravel the mystery of his wife’s infidelity with the husband of a congresswoman, played by Thomas.

“It’s not typical Harrison. It’s more an ambitious adult romantic mystery,” said Ed Russell, executive vice president for publicity for Sony Pictures, the film’s distributor. “It’s a tribute to Harrison’s drawing power to have a very good opening with an adult film rather than an action movie.”

Ford’s last straight action film, “Air Force One,” debuted at No. 1 in July 1997 with $37.1 million, while his forays into romance have fared more poorly. The action romance “Six Days, Seven Nights” premiered in second place with $16.5 million in June 1998, and his remake of the romantic comedy “Sabrina” opened at No. 5 with $5.6 million in December 1995.

The Bruce Willis ghost story “The Sixth Sense” remained in the top 10 for the 10th-straight weekend. The film was No. 6 with $6.1 million and has grossed $242.7 million.