A Solid Comeback for John Travolta

After sinking beneath the surface with recent flops like “Battlefield Earth” and “Lucky Numbers,” actor John Travolta regained some box-office punch with his new action-thriller, “Swordfish.” The Warner Bros. film was the No. 1-grossing movie in the country over the weekend, taking in $18.1 million.

“Shrek,” the animated comedy about a green ogre, came in second to continue its amazing early summer movie season run. The DreamWorks film has now taken in $176.1 million in only four weeks.

“Pearl Harbor” fell to third with $14.7 million in ticket sales, followed by “Evolution” with $13.4 million and “The Animal” with $9.6 million. “Moulin Rouge” took in a modest $7.6 million; the postmodern musical starring Nicole Kidman has taken in $27.6 million so far.

Disney’s new animated feature, “Atlantis: The Lost Empire,” and Fine Line Features’ “The Anniversary Party” opened in limited release.

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Swordfish” $18.1 2,678 1 (Warner Bros.) $18.1 $6,776 2. “Shrek” $16.5 3,715 4 (DreamWorks) $176.1 $4,447 3. “Pearl Harbor” $14.7 3,255 3 (Disney/Touchstone) $144.0 $4,523 4. “Evolution” $13.4 2,611 1 (DreamWorks) $13.4 $5,135 5. “The Animal” $9.6 2,788 2 (Sony/Columbia) $35.7 $3,446 6. “Moulin Rouge” $7.6 2,283 4 (Fox) $27.6 $3,350 7. “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?” $5.5 2,675 2 (MGM) $22.4 $2,047 8. “The Mummy Returns” $4.7 2,540 6 (Universal) $188.7 $1,850 9. “A Knight’s Tale” $1.7 1,850 5 (Sony/Columbia) $52.7 $920 10.”Bridget Jones’s Diary” $1.1 975 9 (Miramax) $67.4 $1,175 “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” $329,011 2 1 (Disney) $329,011 $164,506 “The Anniversary Party” $158,533 11 1 (Fine Line) $158,533 $14.412

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.