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Audiences continue forking over for ‘American Pie’ amid weak new releases
By DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) – ”American Pie 2” continues to out-gross all challengers. Amid a weak field of new films, the gross-out comedy remained the top movie for a third straight weekend. Taking in $12.8 million over the weekend, ”American Pie 2” pushed its total take to $109.6 million in 17 days, according to studio estimates Sunday. ”Rush Hour 2” remained the No. 2 film with $11.4 million, raising its 24-day total to $183.3 million. Among a rush of new movies, ”Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” drew the biggest audience. The comedy from writer-director Kevin Smith was No. 3 with $11.1 million.

The baseball flick ”Summer Catch,” starring Freddie Prinze Jr., debuted in sixth place with $7.5 million. The sci-fi thriller ”John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars” opened weakly with $3.8 million to finish at No. 9. Woody Allen’s ”The Curse of the Jade Scorpion,” playing in far fewer theaters than the other new films, had a so-so debut of $2.5 million to come in at No. 11.

”Bubble Boy,” a comedy about a youth with a deficient immune system, did not even break into the top 12, opening with just $2 million. Hollywood is in the midst of its typical late-summer doldrums, when movie-going trails off.

”It feels like summer is over,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, which tracks the box office.

The industry is creeping toward its all-time summer revenue high of $3 billion set in 1999, a record Hollywood should break by next weekend. While it was a slow weekend compared to most of this summer, the overall box office still rose compared to the same weekend last year. The top 12 movies grossed $82.5 million, up about 10 percent. ”Jay and Silent Bob” drew the steadiest crowds among new films, averaging $4,014 a theater in 2,765 locations. The movie stars Jason Mewes and Smith as the title characters, who were supporting players in his previous four movies, including ”Dogma” and ”Chasing Amy.” The movie drew heavily on Smith’s cult following, but distributor Miramax hopes it will find a broader audience.

”It’s a very satisfying comedy on a lot of levels,” said David Kaminow, Miramax senior vice president for marketing. ”Hopefully, we’ll get some non-Kevin Smith fans to come and sample what we think is a great comedy.”

…

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures are to be released Monday.

1. ”American Pie 2,” $12.8 million.
2. ”Rush Hour 2,” $11.4 million.
3. ”Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” $11.1 million.
4. ”The Others,” $8.6 million.
5. ”Rat Race,” $8.3 million.
6. ”Summer Catch,” $7.5 million.
7. ”The Princess Diaries,” $6.7 million.
8. ”Captain Corelli’s Mandolin,” $3.9 million.
9. ”John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars,” $3.8 million.
10. ”Planet of the Apes,” $3.5 million.

“This week’s talk of town, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back pulled an all right but not spectacular debut this weekend, as the new Kevin Smith comedic adventure earned $11.1 million in ticket sales. Playing in 2,735 sites, Jay averaged $4,059 per-cinema. While exit polls were solid on Friday night, its Saturday drop-off suggests most fans either saw it on Friday night or at the sneak preview last Saturday (where all sneak preview money went towards The Others) and doesn’t hint a very encouraging holdup for next week. Nevertheless, with Jay & Silent Bob’s budget set at $15 – 20 million, the comedy’s $11.1 million scores as Smith’s highest debut ever and will likely become View Askews biggest success.”

The force wasn’t with “Jay and Silent Bob” to win the weekend, despite being number one on Friday. Kevin Smith’s fifth picture from his View Askewniverse delivered an estimated $11.1 million from 2,765 theaters. That bests the $8.7 million of “Dogma” to mark Smith’s best bow to date, though, so the $15 million comedy does give him something to say “Snootchie-Bootchies” about.