Universal Feasts on ‘Pie 2’

Any way you slice it, “American Pie 2” has only added to what is shaping up as another big year at the box office for Universal Pictures.

With an opening weekend gross of $45.1 million, the raunchy, youth-oriented sequel recorded the best opening ever for an R-rated comedy, passing “Scary Movie 2” ($42.3 million), and had the second-best opening for any R-rated movie after “Hannibal” ($58 million). It also marked the fourth opening in a row this year in which Universal had the No. 1 film--and the fourth consecutive time that a Universal film debuted with more than $40 million at the box office.

In its second weekend, “Rush Hour 2” dropped 51% to $33.1 million, while “The Princess Diaries” fell 38% to $14.2 million.

The new Nicole Kidman thriller, “The Others,” grossed $14.1 million for fourth place, while “Osmosis Jones,” a new comedy combining live action and animation, debuted in seventh place with $5.3 million.

Weekend Box Office

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Weekend Box Office Movie (Studio) Three-day gross/ Total (millions) Screens/ Average Weeks in Release 1. “American Pie 2” $45.1 3,063 1 (Universal) $45.1 $14,730 2. “Rush Hour 2” $33.1 3,118 2 (New Line) $133.5 $10,621 3. “The Princess Diaries” $14.2 2,706 2 (Disney) $52.1 $5,254 4. “The Others” $14.1 1,678 1 (Dimension) $14.1 $8,397 5. “Planet of the Apes” $13.3 3,401 3 (Fox) $148.7 $3,911 6. “Jurassic Park III” $7.5 3,175 4 (Universal) $160.4 2,370 7. “Osmosis Jones” $5.3 2,305 1 (Warner Bros.) $5.3 $2,287 8. “America’s Sweethearts” $4.4 2,686 4 (Sony/Columbia) $83.2 $1,640 9. “Legally Blonde” $3.8 2,031 5 (MGM) $78.7 $1,858 10. “Original Sin” $3.1 2,194 2 (MGM) $12.5 $1,402

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Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.