By the Numbers

Weekend box office

The top two pictures, “Elf” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,” came in with slightly lower numbers than estimated over the weekend based on more complete three-day figures available Monday, but not significant enough to change their rankings. “Elf,” which is attracting males and females both younger and older than 25, managed a very good second-weekend hold with a drop of only 15%. That “Master and Commander” audiences consisted of people predominantly 25 and over and nearly evenly divided among males and females bodes well for its longevity, as do the consistently high marks both films get in exit polls.

-- R. Kinsey Lowe

*--* MOVIE 3-DAY GROSS TOTAL (MILL.) VENUES AVGVENUE WEEKS

1 Elf $26.3 $70.3 3,381 $7,786 2 (New Line)

2 Master and $25.1 $25.1 3,101 $8,096 1 Commander: The Far Side of the World (20th Century Fox)

3 The Matrix $16.4 $114.3 3,502 $4,687 2 Revolutions (Warner Bros.)

4 Brother Bear $12.1 $63.1 3,030 $3,979 4 (Buena Vista)

5 Looney Tunes: $9.3 $9.3 2,903 $3,210 1 Back in Action (Warner Bros.)

6 Love Actually $8.7 $18.9 1,177 $7,390 2 (Universal)

7 Scary Movie 3 $6.1 $102.3 2,960 $2,063 4 (Miramax/Dimens ion)

8 Radio $4.8 $43.5 2,416 $1,990 4 (Sony/Revolutio n)

9 Tupac: $4.6 $4.6 801 $5,784 1 Resurrection (Paramount)

10 Mystic River $3.2 $45.6 1,550 $2,093 6 (Warner Bros.)

*--*

Source: Nielsen EDI Inc.