Hannibal’s Hunt for ‘Red’ October

Halloween came early this year with trick-or-treating courtesy of Hannibal Lecter.

“Red Dragon,” directed by Brett Ratner and starring Anthony Hopkins in his third turn as the cannibalistic psychiatrist, leaped into first place this weekend with an estimated $37.5 million, averaging an impressive $11,165 per theater.

The Universal picture, which also stars Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson, set a record for films opening in October, surpassing the previous milestone set by “Meet the Parents,” which brought in $28.6 million two years ago for the same studio.

“Red Dragon,” the second movie based on the first of three Thomas Harris books featuring Lecter, did not bring in as much as “Hannibal,” which opened with $58 million in February 2001. Still, “Red Dragon” grossed more than four times as much as the $8.6-million original 1986 film version, “Manhunter,” took in during in its entire theatrical run.

The second film in the series and the first with Hopkins in the role of Hannibal, “The Silence of the Lambs” opened in February 1991 with $13.8 million and went on to earn a total of $165 million as well as several Oscars, including best picture, best actor (Hopkins) and best-adapted screenplay for Ted Tally, who also scripted “Red Dragon.”

“Sweet Home Alabama” dropped a respectable 39% from last weekend, grossing an estimated $21.6 million in second place for a 10-day total of $65.6 million.

Disney’s romantic comedy is well on its way to becoming Reese Witherspoon’s highest-grossing movie, outpacing last year’s surprise hit “Legally Blonde,” which took in $96.5 million at the box office. Jackie Chan’s “The Tuxedo” came in at No. 3, with $10.1 million, dropping only 33% and grossing a total of $28.1 million in 10 days.

IFC Films’ “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” has become the highest-grossing independent film ever, coming in at No. 4, taking in $8.4 million over the weekend for a total of $148 million. The record was previously held by Artisan’s “The Blair Witch Project,” which in 1999 made $140.5 million.

The MGM hit “Barbershop” came in at No. 5 five, dropping only 32% from last weekend with an estimated $6.8 million and a cumulative box office of $60.2 million in four weeks. Although the movie prompted a flurry of criticism from some African American leaders for what they considered inappropriate humor at the expense of civil-rights icons Rosa Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the movie has continued to do extremely well.

In sixth place was the computer-animated “Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.” Considering that it is not well-known among many mainstream moviegoers, the well-reviewed Christian-oriented film did very well in its first weekend out, grossing $6.5 million in only 940 theaters. Artisan Entertainment, the movie’s distributor, did not release it in the Northeast because video sales there of the “VeggieTales” series have never caught on as well as in other parts of the country. But because of its impressive opening, the studio plans to expand the film’s release next weekend.

The Goldie Hawn/Susan Sarandon film “The Banger Sisters” continues to hang in the top 10, coming in at No. 7. The Fox Searchlight picture made $3.6 million over the weekend for a total of $24.3 million in its third week.

Paramount’s expensive flop “The Four Feathers” was in eighth place, grossing only $2.1 million over the weekend for a total of $15 million. Disney’s “Moonlight Mile” did very well its second weekend in release, grossing $2 million in 434 theaters. The film, which has grossed a total of $2.4 million, rose 507% because the studio added nearly 400 theaters from last weekend.

Rounding out the top 10, Fox Searchlight’s “One Hour Photo” made an additional $1.7 million for a total of $28.7 million. This weekend’s top 10 movies grossed an estimated $100.3 million, up nearly 25% from the comparable weekend last year.

In other box-office news, Paramount Classics’ drama “Bloody Sunday,” chronicling the 1970s massacre of civilians by British troops in Northern Ireland, grossed an amazing $16,000 per screen in its limited New York release. The film, directed by Paul Greengrass, was released on only two screens in New York and made $32,000 over the weekend. The movie opens Friday in Los Angeles.