‘Harry Potter,’ Still No. 1, Loses Some of Its Magic to an ‘Enemy’

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” took in $24.1 million to remain the No. 1 movie for the third straight weekend. But its gross dropped dramatically from last week’s Friday-to-Sunday total, according to studio estimates released Sunday. The film has taken in $220.1 million in 17 days.

“Behind Enemy Lines,” starring Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson, opened in second place with $19.2 million. “Spy Game” was third with $11.2 million. Estimates are according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Final figures were to be released today.

In limited release, the historical drama “The Affair of the Necklace,” starring Oscar winner Hilary Swank, opened with $136,000 in 18 theaters for a healthy average of $7,556. The long-delayed western “Texas Rangers” with Dylan McDermott bombed with just $300,000 in 402 theaters for a feeble $746 average.

After a record-shattering $90.3 million debut two weeks ago and a huge take over the long Thanksgiving weekend, “Harry Potter” returned to earth. Its 58% drop from the previous weekend is typical of big family films released around Thanksgiving. Theater crowds trail off as children return to school and parents are preoccupied with holiday shopping.

“Monsters, Inc.,” another family hit, fell from second place to fourth with $9.4 million, a 61% decline from the previous Friday-through-Sunday period.

Last year, the gross for “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” fell 48% the weekend after Thanksgiving.

“Harry Potter” and “Monsters, Inc.” should see solid rebounds around Christmas and New Year’s Day. Both holidays are prime time for family moviegoing. They fall on Tuesdays this year, meaning five-day holiday weekends that bode well for film attendance.

Distributor Warner Bros. expects “Harry Potter” to soar well past the $300-million mark and easily break into the top 10 list of all-time top-grossing films. It could even head toward the $400-million mark, putting it among the top-grossing four or five films, said Jeff Goldstein, Warner’s general sales manager.

Whether it can approach the $601 million of domestic box-office champ “Titanic” remains to be seen.

“It’s just too early to tell,” Goldstein said. “Whether we can go for the all-time record, that’s something we won’t know till four or five weeks out from now.”

The movie might be able to match the $461-million gross of the No. 2 film, “Star Wars,” or the $431-million take of No. 3 movie, “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.”

The top five are rounded out by “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” at $400 million and “Jurassic Park” at $357 million.

Warner reported that “Harry Potter” continues to draw solid return customers, but it will have a hard time approaching the repeat business of “Titanic.”