Could the ‘Planner’ Have Figured on This?

“The Wedding Planner” remained on an extended honeymoon as the romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez took in $10.6 million to remain atop the weekend box-office chart for the second consecutive week.

Debuting in second place was the youth-oriented horror-thriller “Valentine,” which grossed $10 million, followed by “Cast Away,” which has now taken in $203 million after seven weeks in release.

Opening in seventh place with a lackluster $4.8 million in ticket sales was the youth-oriented comedy, “Head Over Heels.”

“The marketplace was extremely competitive for films that had an appeal for teen audiences,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Dergarabedian noted that the top dozen films this past weekend fared a scant .27% better at the box office than the same weekend last year. Meanwhile, the Christian-themed apocalypse film, “Left Behind: The Movie,” debuted with $2.16 million.

Weekend Box Office

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “The Wedding Planner” $10.6 2,785 2 (Sony/Columbia) $27.8 $3,808 2. “Valentine” $10.2 2,310 1 (Warner Bros.) $10.2 $4,340 3. “Cast Away” $7.5 2,646 7 (Fox) $203.0 $2,823 4. “Save the Last Dance” $7.2 2,570 4 (Paramount) $68.5 $2,791 5. “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” $6.8 1,163 9 (Sony Classics) $53.0 $5,861 6. “Traffic” $6.3 1,580 6 (USA Films) $64.8 $4,087 7. “Head Over Heels” $4.8 2,338 1 (Universal) $4.8 $2,055 8. “Finding Forrester” $4.2 1,983 7 (Sony/Columbia) $41.3 $2,125 9. “Snatch” $4.0 1,240 3 (Sony/Screen Gems) $21.7 $3,231 10.”Chocolat” $3.6 1,173 8 (Miramax) $22.4 $3,111 “Left Behind: The Movie” $2.15 867 1 (Cloud Ten) $2.16 $2,490

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.