Weekend box office

“Dawn of the Dead” scared up $26.7 million in its opening weekend, knocking “The Passion of the Christ” off its first-place perch. The head-trip “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” performed well in a moderately wide release, opening in seventh place but with a per-theater average second only to “Dawn of the Dead.” Just outside the top 10, in 12th position, is “NASCAR: The Imax Experience,” which has the highest per-theater average of any film in multiple locations, $19,733, and a total to date of $3.4 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. The biggest single-screen gross was for “Bon Voyage,” which took in $31,000 in its exclusive New York engagement. Internationally, “The Passion” has taken in more than $30 million, including $10.1 million over the weekend in Latin American markets. It’s also playing in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Poland, Greece, Portugal, and a few theaters in Lebanon, Jordan and Qatar. The film, which has taken in $295.5 million domestically, opens this week in Great Britain and most of the rest of Europe, with Italy joining the fray April 7.

*

*--* Movie 3-day Total Venues Average Weeks (Studio) Gross (Millions) Per Venue 1 Dawn of the Dead $26.7 $26.7 2,745 $9,375 1 (Universal)

2 The Passion of the $19.4 $295.5 3,250 $5,974 4 Christ (Newmarket)

3 Taking Lives (Warner $11.5 $11.5 2,705 $4,236 1 Bros.)

4 Starsky & Hutch $10.4 $67.5 3,185 $3,263 3 (Warner Bros.)

5 Secret Window (Sony) $9.3 $32.8 3,018 $3,070 2

6 Hidalgo (Buena Vista) $8.4 $48.4 2,929 $2,873 3

7 Eternal Sunshine of $8.2 $8.2 1,353 $6,042 1 the Spotless Mind (Focus)

8 Agent Cody Banks (MGM) $6.0 $17.3 2,973 $2,028 2

9 50 First Dates (Sony) $4.2 $113.1 2,183 $1,945 6

10 Confessions of a $1.6 $27.6 1,281 $1,218 5 Teenage Drama Queen (Buena Vista)

*--*

Source: Individual distributors, Nielsen EDI

Los Angeles Times