‘Hollow Man’ Passes Baton to ‘Cell’

It may be the dog days of August, but there’s still some bite in the movie box office.

“The Cell,” a psychological thriller starring Jennifer Lopez as a scientist who probes the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to save a child, grossed $17.5 million to capture No. 1 at the weekend box office.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co., said “Hollow Man,” which had been the top-grossing film the last two weeks, before tumbling to seventh place, whetted the audience’s appetite for another R-rated horror thriller, and “The Cell” filled the void.

The weekend’s biggest surprise, though, was the comedy concert film “The Original Kings of Comedy,” featuring four African American comics. It debuted as No. 2, taking in $11.1 million on only 847 screens.

Campy “Godzilla 2000” opened out of the top 10 with $4.4 million.

Weekend Box Office

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Cell” $17.5 2,411 1 (New Line) $17.5 $7,265 2. “The Original Kings of Comedy” $11.1 847 1 (Paramount) $11.6 $13,051 3. “Space Cowboys” $9.5 2,835 3 (Warner Bros.) $53.8 $3,343 4. “The Replacements” $7.2 2,754 2 (Warner Bros.) $23.4 $2,620 5. “What Lies Beneath” $6.8 2,760 5 (DreamWorks) $123.4 $2,449 6. “Nutty Professor II” $6.3 2,969 4 (Universal) $104.3 $2,125 7. “Hollow Man” $6.0 2,956 3 (Sony/Columbia) $61.6 $2,033 8. “Autumn in New York” $5.5 2,282 2 (MGM) $21.0 $2,431 9. “Coyote Ugly” $5.0 2,539 3 (Disney/Touchstone) $43.9 $1,978 10. “Bless the Child” $4.8 2,521 2 (Paramount) $18.0 $1,919 “Godzilla 2000” $4.4 2,111 1 (Sony/TriStar) $4.4 $2,088

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.