‘Irene,’ ‘Chicken’ Outrun Not-So-Hot Competition

For the second weekend in a row, grosses were down about 20% from last year (when “Big Daddy” opened huge), according to the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. And because ticket prices are higher, that means an even more significant dip in attendance.

The erosion was stemmed somewhat by the return of Jim Carrey to manic comedy and by a bunch of clay chickens.

“Me, Myself & Irene,” starring Carrey, may have aroused the ire of the politically correct and the non-scatologically inclined, but 20th Century Fox was laughing all the way to the bank as the medium-budgeted comedy grossed an estimated $24.2 million in 3,016 theaters. That’s the best debut for any R-rated comedy except “Beverly Hills Cop II,” according to studio senior executive Tom Sherak. Men and women showed up in equal numbers, and the under-25 set enjoyed the Farrelly brothers’ out-there antics more than older patrons, which is preferable because they’re more likely to return for a second look.

With an extended Fourth of July weekend ahead and no new comedies on the horizon except the family-friendly “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle,” Carrey and Martin Lawrence in “Big Momma’s House” pretty much have the field to themselves.

The heroic squirrel and moose will have to outrun a bunch of chickens next weekend, and it looks like they have their work cut out for them because DreamWorks’ Claymation comedy “Chicken Run” is off to a flying start. Critics scratched out kudos for the British-produced film, which helped attract adults in addition to the expected family crowd. The debut weekend launched the movie strongly with an estimated $17.5 million in 2,491 theaters, even better than the company’s “Antz.” Because “Chicken” cost just north of $40 million, inexpensive indeed for animation, it looks to be another hit for DreamWorks, which has connected every time at bat so far this season and will try for a perfect summer with its fifth release, the Robert Zemeckis thriller “What Lies Beneath,” starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, which arrives in late July.

Industry insiders are praying that next weekend’s big action duo “The Patriot,” starring Mel Gibson, and “The Perfect Storm,” with George Clooney, will put some backsides back into theater seats. Meanwhile, the existing crop of action films is enjoying one last breather. “Shaft,” starring Samuel L. Jackson, was still the man in its second weekend with an estimated $13.3 million on 2,407 screens. “Shaft” has shot up almost $43 million in just 10 days, which is almost as much as the film cost.

“Gone in 60 Seconds” was keeping pace in fourth place in its third weekend, on 3,089 screens. The predicted $9.5-million take raised the Nicolas Cage car-heist caper to just under $70 million, and only the two big lugs arriving next weekend stand in the way of his race to the $100-million finish line.

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“Big Momma’s House” has taken in more than $85 million in only four weeks, rolling into fifth place over the past weekend with an expected $8.7 million in 2,846 theaters. The Fox hit comedy withstood the debut of the same studio’s “Me, Myself & Irene,” welcome news for the company, which just lost its chief Bill Mechanic, who resigned suddenly last week. Fox bombed out in the animation department with last weekend’s “Titan A.E.” debut. The film dropped like a stone (61%) to $3.7 million in its second flight on 2,768 screens for a ground-zero $16.9 million in 10 days. “Titan” stands as the biggest dud of the summer so far.

In contrast, “M:I-2” has now officially done the impossible, become Tom Cruise’s biggest-grossing domestic film, with just under $190 million, after just five weeks. This past weekend contributed an estimated $8 million in 3,245 theaters. “M:I-2” should become the new century’s first $200-million-grossing film sometime over the Fourth of July holiday.

Still feisty is seventh-place “Gladiator,” which is showing amazing stamina. After two months in theaters, the Roman epic has successfully fended off several challengers. And it was still strong enough to gross about $4 million in 1,812 screens for a total to date of nearly $166 million. “Gladiator” is now the movie to beat for second place in the summer sweepstakes.

“Chicken Run” not only pecked away at most of “Titan A.E.’s” patrons, but Disney’s “Dinosaur” and “Fantasia 2000” as well.

“Dinosaur” at least had a head start on the summer and has taken in $127 million in its first six weeks. But the past weekend’s 40% decline to $3.5 million in 2,248 theaters signals that the film’s days are numbered. “Fantasia 2000” will sweat out the last two weeks of its disastrous limited national-release engagement. Its second weekend culled little more than half of its weak debut take, a decidedly unfantastic $1.6 million in 1,313 theaters. Thanks to the lucrative Imax run, “Fantasia 2000” has amassed almost $56 million so far.

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The absence of romance this summer was acutely brought home by the arrival of “Boys and Girls” last weekend. But only teens showed up, and even they seemed to find it wanting; its second weekend fell apart by 55%, dropping to $3.1 million in 1,989 theaters for a modest 10-day total of $14 million.

Among specialized films, the Hungarian epic “Sunshine,” starring Ralph Fiennes, expanded to 58 theaters over the weekend, taking in a good $354,000 for more than $600,000 to date.

The sleeper indie hit “Croupier” took in $310,000 on 92 screens over the weekend for a $1.5-million gross to date.