‘Virgin,’ ‘Eye’ top box office

Two very different movies connected with young female audiences this weekend to take the top spots at the nation’s box office.

“The 40 Year-Old-Virgin” hooked up an estimated $20.6 million at No. 1 for the ribald film described by its star and co-writer , Steve Carell, as “a love story masquerading as a sex comedy.” The well-received psychological thriller “Red Eye” from horror movie veteran Wes Craven landed in second place with an estimated $16.5 million.

Universal Pictures reported the R-rated “Virgin,” directed and co-written by Judd Apatow, attracted an audience that was 54% female and an equal share younger than 30, according to theater exit surveys. The film posted a 12% increase in business from Friday to Saturday.

Universal president of distribution Nikki Rocco wasn’t sure why the film skewed female but said she had a hunch “comedy is a draw for females, as opposed to serious stuff right now.” She said that even though “it’s raunchy ... it’s also sort of sweet as well” and added that “the marketing campaign attracted women because it said the film had heart.”

Comedy isn’t the only genre young women found attractive.

“Red Eye,” a PG-13-rated thriller about a terrorist (Cillian Murphy) who corners a young woman (Rachel McAdams) on a homeward-bound jetliner to accomplish an elaborate assassination plot on the ground, attracted a crowd that was 58% female and 60% under 25, DreamWorks head of distribution James Tharp said.

Venturing out of the horror-slasher film mold, Craven didn’t set out to make a movie that appealed to women, “he set out to make a movie with broad appeal. But having read the script, I knew that would be the primary audience,” Tharp said.

Other movies that have attracted females in significant numbers on opening weekends this summer include “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (56%) and last week’s top films, “Four Brothers” (53%) and “The Skeleton Key” (59%).

“Wedding Crashers,” an R-rated comedy that has resonated equally among males and females, added an estimated $8.3 million over the weekend, bringing its total to $177.9 million. Representatives of New Line said they expected the movie to surpass the PG-13 “Hitch” this week to become the year’s biggest comedy and noted that it has now out-grossed the previous R-rated comedy champ, “There’s Something About Mary” ($176.5 million), although with ticket price inflation the 1998 film “Mary” still attracted a larger number of ticket buyers.

Meanwhile, “March of the Penguins” strode closer to $50 million as the amazing documentary about emperor penguins’ struggle to survive in Antarctica added about $6.7 million for a total of $48.6 million.

Another documentary, the raunchy, ultra-low-budget “The Aristocrats,” doubled its theater count to 172 and took in an additional $700,500, bringing the total for the ThinkFilm release to a little more than $2 million.

Two new studio releases, each of them acquisitions rather than studio-financed, had less than impressive debuts. “Valiant,” a Disney/Touchstone release of a Vanguard Animation movie about heroic pigeons during World War II, took in an estimated $6.1 million in seventh place, and “Supercross,” the 20th Century Fox release of a Tag Entertainment/Clear Channel production, grossed an estimated $1.3 million.

Business overall remains sluggish, with the current weekend down 6% from Aug. 12 to 14 and off 4% from the same weekend last year, according to tracking firm Nielsen EDI Inc. The summer is about 9% behind the season for 2004 and down 8% for the year.

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Box Office

Preliminary results (in millions) based on studio projections.

*--* Movie 3-daygross Total The 40 Year-Old Virgin $20.6 $20.6

Red Eye 16.5 16.5

Four Brothers 13.0 43.6

Wedding Crashers 8.3 177.9

The Skeleton Key 7.4 30.1

March of the Penguins 6.7 48.6

Valiant 6.1 6.1

Dukes of Hazzard 5.7 68.8

Charlie / Chocolate Factory 4.5 192.7

Sky High 4.0 50.8

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Source: Neilsen EDI Inc.