Weekend box office

The weekend’s surprise hit, writer-performer Tyler Perry’s “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” took in $21.9 million, playing in fewer than half as many theaters as the enduringly popular “Hitch.” The number was about $800,000 less than Lions Gate had estimated on Sunday, but that’s not an extraordinary variance. What is extraordinary is the $14,771-per-theater average for “Diary,” which also gave Lions Gate its second movie ever to open at No. 1 (“Fahrenheit 9/11” was the first).

Basking in the four Oscars for “Million Dollar Baby” -- best picture, director, actress and supporting actor -- Warner Bros. President of Distribution Dan Fellman said Monday that the studio expects to “pick up another 100 engagements from exhibitors who want to come back and play the picture.” In the run-up to the Oscars, Fellman noted, “business has been exceptional. We had an 8% uptick [for last week] and by the end of this week we’ll hit $70 million.” Fellman was optimistic Clint Eastwood’s boxing drama would reach $100 million, pointing to the roughly $36 million “Chicago” and “Schindler’s List” each added after their best picture wins.

*

*--* MOVIE 3-DAY TOTAL (MILLIONS) VENUES AVERAGE PER VENUE WEEKS (STUDIO) GROSS (MILLION S)

1 Diary of a $21.9 $21.9 1,483 $14,771 1 Mad Black Woman (Lion s Gate)

2 Hitch $20.4 $121.4 3,571 $5,719 3 (Sony)

3 Constantine $12.0 $51.0 3,006 $4,007 2 (Warn er Bros. )

4 Cursed $9.6 $9.6 2,805 $3,434 1 (Mira max/D imens ion)

5 Man of the $8.9 $8.9 2,422 $3,682 1 House (Sony)

6 Million $7.3 $64.9 2,125 $3,456 11 Dollar Baby (Warn er Bros. )

7 Because of $6.8 $22.3 3,188 $2,141 2 Winn-Dixie (Fox)

8 Are We There $4.1 $76.5 2,242 $1,834 6 Yet? (Sony /Revo lutio n)

9 Son of the $3.8 $14.0 2,966 $1,289 2 Mask (New Line)

10 The Aviator $3.7 $93.6 1,579 $2,368 11 (Mira max)

*--*

Source: Nielsen EDI Inc.