$21.7 MILLION A SMOOTH RIDE FOR 'HITCHHIKER'.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

The presummer showdown between ``The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' and ``XXX: State of the Union'' was an easy win for ``Galaxy,'' which thumbed its way to a first-place finish on $21.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The comic sci-fi adventure, based on the book of the late Douglas Adams, had the biggest April opening ever for a PG-rated film, according to Walt Disney Pictures.

``We went into the weekend believing we were in a dogfight,'' said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's Buena Vista Distribution. ``To put this kind of differential between us and the second- and third-place movies, that is a testament to how good a job marketing did and how interesting the material is.''

Viane said audiences were evenly split between the under-25 and over-25 age groups and was 59 percent male, 41 percent female.

``We gotta believe it's because of people reading the book,'' Viane said. ``The young guys are reading it now, and the older folks read it before.''

``Galaxy'' gave Disney its second No. 1 opening film of the year, following ``The Pacifier'' in February. Disney had struggled during the first eight months of 2004 and did not have a film open in the first position until late July with ``The Village.''

For Sony Pictures Entertainment, the opening weekend numbers for the new ``XXX'' movie, starring Ice Cube, were well below what was hoped for, taking in just $13.7 million over the three days. The film is a sequel to 2002's ``XXX,'' which starred Vin Diesel and had enjoyed a stellar $44.5 million opening on its way to earning $141.2 million domestically.

``We're disappointed,'' said Rory Bruer, Sony's president of domestic distribution. ``We feel like we have a really terrific star in Ice Cube and a great director in Lee Tamahori. Everyone worked hard to make this movie a success.''

Last week's No. 1 movie, ``The Interpreter,'' held strongly in its second week, with an estimated $14.2 million in ticket sales and a surprising second-place finish.

Released by Universal Pictures, the dramatic thriller, starring Oscar winners Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman, dropped just 37.6 percent and has made $43.6 million to date.

``To be No. 2 this weekend was just an exciting event for us,'' said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of domestic distribution. ``It's on everybody's mind that they have to go see it.''

The fright flick ``The Amityville Horror'' continued to scare up solid business during its third week in theaters, finishing in fourth place. The last release from MGM as a major independent studio took in an additional $8.1 million for a total take of $55 million so far.

Rounding out the top five was the Paramount Pictures release ``Sahara,'' which took in an estimated $6 million during its fourth weekend in theaters. The action adventure, starring Matthew McConaughey, has earned $57.2 million to date.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

TOP MOVIES

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

1. ``The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,'' $21.7 million.

2. ``The Interpreter,'' $14.2 million.

3. ``XXX: State of the Union,'' $13.7 million.

4. ``The Amityville Horror,'' $8.1 million.

5. ``Sahara,'' $6 million.

6. ``A Lot Like Love,'' $5.2 million.

7. ``Kung Fu Hustle,'' $3.8 million.

8. ``Fever Pitch,'' $3.75 million.

9. ``Robots,'' $2.65 million.

10. ``Guess Who,'' $2.2 million.

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TOP MOVIES (see text)