‘Traff ic’ Increases After Expansion

While “Cast Away” and “What Women Want” remained America’s top two-grossing pictures over the weekend, it was the surprisingly strong showing of “Traffic” that had Hollywood talking Monday.

Steven Soderbergh’s fast-paced drama about America’s ongoing drug war grossed $15.5 million as the USA Films release expanded in its second weekend to 1,510 screens and a per-screen average of $10,262.

Soderbergh, who also directed “Erin Brockovich,” has seen “Traffic” win the New York Film Critics Circle award for best film of 2000 and, as director, he has swept the major critics awards for both films.

Meanwhile, “Cast Away” had no trouble with the competition, raking in $22.2 million on its third weekend. The Tom Hanks film has already amassed $141.7 million.

The Mel Gibson romantic comedy “What Women Want” also is packing them in. The film grossed $15.6 million on its fourth weekend in release for a total of $137.9 million to date.

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” remained in the top 10 while only playing on 172 screens. The Chinese-language film with English subtitles has taken in $18.5 million to date and over the weekend had a hefty per-screen average of $19,816--easily outdistancing every other top 10 movie in that regard.

Weekend Box Office

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Three-Day Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Cast Away” $22.2 2,948 3 (Fox) $141.7 $7,538 2. “What Women Want” $15.6 3,052 4 (Paramount) $137.9 $5,097 3. “Traffic” $15.5 1,510 2 (USA Films) $16.0 $10,262 4. “Miss Congeniality” $13.0 2,668 3 (Warner Bros.) $65.4 $4,881 5. “The Family Man” $9.1 2,410 3 (Universal) $56.3 $3,785 6. “The Emperor’s New Groove” $7.5 2,774 4 (Disney) $62.4 $2,690 7. “Vertical Limit” $5.0 2,602 5 (Sony/Columbia) $59.3 $1,926 8. “Dracula 2000” $4.3 2,204 3 (Dimension) $28.1 $1,956 9. “Dude, Where’s My Car?” $3.8 2,004 4 (Fox) $41.4 $1,912 10.”Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” $3.4 172 5 (Sony Classics) $18.5 $19,816

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.