‘Grinch’ Hangs On to His Spot at the Top of the Mountain

After a month of Sundays, “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is still king of the movie world, bagging an estimated $18.5 million in 3,186 theaters this weekend to bring its four-week total to $195.5 million. At this rate, “Grinch” should knock “M:I-2” ($215.4 million) off its perch as the year’s top-grossing film at some point over the next couple of weeks.

“Grinch” got its first whiff of strong competition from one of the weekend’s three new year-end titles, all with an action bent. Sony’s “Vertical Limit” rose highest, with an estimated $16 million in 2,307 theaters, giving the well-reviewed (at least for its stunts) movie a solid foothold on the expanding but increasingly competitive Christmas market.

Most encouraging for Sony, according to distribution and marketing head Jeff Blake, was the fact that “Vertical” attendance was almost equally divided between men and women, half of whom were younger than 25. Moreover, the satisfaction level was strong across the board, he said, meaning the film could have climber’s legs.

The hostage rescue drama “Proof of Life,” starring Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe, pulled into third with a less-than-lively $10.4 million debut anticipated in 2,705 theaters, accompanied by tepid notices. “Dungeons & Dragons,” the game-turned-movie, suffered critical sneers and got off to an even shakier start with an estimated $7 million in its first turn on 2,078 screens. The decline from Friday to Saturday indicates that were it not for a nucleus of die-hard fans, “D&D;” would have been completely DOA.

Still, considering that the past weekend was the low tide of the Christmas moviegoing season, box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations’ estimated $81.5 million in ticket sales for the top 12 films more than passes muster, running about 14% ahead of last year and almost dead even with last weekend.

The weekend’s three new movies dealt “Unbreakable” its first serious damage. The Bruce Willis thriller was down almost 50% in its third weekend in 2,682 theaters--to a still-respectable $7.5 million or so and $77.4 million to date.

“102 Dalmatians” barked up another $6.3 million in 2,704 theaters for a three-week total of $44.3 million, helped somewhat by the 82% capacity Saturday night sneaks for “The Emperor’s New Groove,” which, according to a Disney spokeswoman, generated satisfaction levels comparable to “A Bug’s Life” and “Toy Story.” “Emperor” arrives next weekend to do battle with “Dalmatians” and “Rugrats in Paris,” which has turned the $60-million corner, approximately $4 million of that in its fourth weekend on 2,840 screens.

The ever-buoyant “Meet the Parents” is still in the top 10 after 10 weeks, taking in an estimated $3 million on 1,940 screens, bringing its total to $157 million to date. “Meet’s” take was aided by Friday and Saturday night sneak previews of “Family Man,” starring Nicolas Cage, which brought a surge of attendance (79% capacity on Friday and 87% the following night).

“Charlie’s Angels” and “Bounce” rounded out the top 10, the Angels fearlessly treading on about $2.7 million and a total of just under $120 million to date in the U.S. and a total of $200 million worldwide. “Bounce” sprung for another $2.6 million in 2,028 theaters for $34 million so far.

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the Ang Lee martial arts fable starring Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, debuted this weekend in New York and three Canadian cities and, on only 16 screens, took in a giant $686,657--more than $42,000 a theater. That’s the biggest opening ever for a Sony Pictures Classics movie, according to company principal Michael Barker. The film arrives in Los Angeles next weekend.

Also in the winner’s circle is “You Can Count on Me,” which brought in close to $300,000 on 53 screens over the weekend, increasing its overall take to just over $2 million. “A Hard Day’s Night” keeps a-rockin’ with $95,000 in its second weekend on 12 screens and about $170,000 so far. “Quills” is still on only 9 screens and holding strong with almost $164,000 and just under $900,000 so far. “Quills” will be on about 200 screens by Christmas.

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Estimated weekend grosses (in millions):

1. “How Grinch Stole Christmas”: $18.5

2. “Vertical Limit”: $16

3. “Proof of Life”: $10.4

4. “Unbreakable”: $7.5

5. “Dungeons & Dragons”: $7

6. “102 Dalmatians”: $6.3

7. “Rugrats in Paris”: $4

8. “Meet the Parents”: $3

9. “Charlie’s Angels”: $2.7

10. “Bounce”: $2.6

See story, Page F2.