By the Numbers

Weekend box office

With little fanfare, the 1998 Imax release “Everest” is climbing into the documentary stratosphere. The film, which follows the treacherous 1996 trek to the summit of Mount Everest by an international team of climbers, has grossed $120.6 million worldwide, including $84.4 million in North America. But the film still has quite a distance to go before surpassing the 1985 documentary “The Dream Is Alive.” That large-format Imax film, which provides a close-up look at several space shuttle missions shot by the astronauts, has amassed worldwide box office of $150 million, according to Exhibitor Relations Co.

It is rare for documentaries to draw the large audiences that feature films do. For instance, Michael Moore’s recent documentary, “Bowling for Columbine,” has grossed $16.6 million to date in North America (the most for a non-Imax, non-music documentary), while 1994’s acclaimed documentary “Hoop Dreams” took in $7.8 million domestically.

Meanwhile, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” became the fourth-highest-grossing film internationally, Warner Bros. said, with ticket sales overseas totaling an estimated $558.5 million, bringing its worldwide total to $816.4 million.

-- Robert W. Welkos

*--* MOVIE 4-DAY TOTAL VENUES AVERAGE WEEKS OUT (STUDIO) GROSS (MILLIONS) PER VENUE

1 Kangaroo Jack $21.9 $21.9 2,818 $7,770 1 (Warner Bros.)

2 National $16.8 $16.8 2,729 $6,161 1 Security (Sony)

3 Just Married $13.8 $35.3 2,769 $4,287 2 (Fox)

4 Catch Me If $12.52 $136.3 3,050 $4,107 4 You Can (DreamWorks)

5 The Lord of $12.5 $300.1 3,110 $4,021 5 the Rings: The Two Towers (New Line)

6 Chicago $9.7 $29.4 557 $17,494 4 (Miramax)

7 A Guy Thing $8.0 $8.0 2,515 $3,183 1 (MGM)

8 About Schmidt $6.8 $30.7 946 $7,212 6 (New Line)

9 The Hours $5.7 $8.4 402 $14,277 4 (Paramount)

10 Two Weeks $4.7 $85.6 2,240 $2,105 5 Notice (Warner Bros.)

*--*

Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.