‘Blade 2’ Leads the Pack on a Busy Weekend

Oscar hoopla didn’t keep audiences from going to the movies in near-record numbers last weekend.

For the second weekend in a row, box-office totals soared more than 60% ahead of last year. Two films grossed more than $30 million, led by “Blade 2,” which took in $32.5 million, above New Line Cinema’s expectations. The audience for the Wesley Snipes vampire sequel was only 30% African American, and New Line marketing head Russell Schwartz says exit-poll satisfaction was on the high side, auguring well for the upcoming holiday weekend and Easter recess.

The second-weekend grosses on the animated hit “Ice Age” were down an acceptable 35% to $30.1 million; the movie has taken in more than $88 million in only 10 days. By next weekend the Fox film could be the first 2002 release to cross $100 million.

Over at Universal Pictures, whose “A Beautiful Mind” won four Oscars, including one for best picture, distribution head Nikki Rocco said the movie will hold steady in about 1,500 runs this weekend, and since the film’s box office last weekend was up 21% in anticipation of the Oscars, the win is expected to keep the film in the top 10 for the 15th consecutive weekend. In the past, Oscar winners still in general release add about $20 million to $30 million after receiving the best picture award.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” which won four Oscars, will add a few theaters to the current count of 1,317, with an added bonus this weekend, according to Schwartz: three minutes of preview footage for the upcoming sequel “The Two Towers,” which director Peter Jackson has integrated into the end of the movie. It’s expected to bring back fans of the movie and take “Lord” over the $300-million mark.

The history-making win for Halle Berry as best actress in “Monster’s Ball” could add as much as $10 million to the film’s $19.6 million to date, as Lions Gate expands the movie to more than 700 screens over the weekend.

As a result of its Oscar for best foreign-language film, the Bosnian entry “No Man’s Land” will return to the top 20 markets in which it had previously played and add to the $781,000 gross it has accumulated so far. Further expansion will depend on the attendance boost the film gets from the Oscars, an MGM spokeswoman said.

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Weekend Box Office

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