`APOCALYPTO' HELPS GIBSON REVIVE CAREER MAYAN DEMISE DRAMA PULLS IN $14.2 MILLION.

Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ Staff Writer

Hollywood loves a comeback, and a disgraced Mel Gibson has managed to stage an unlikely one.

His Mayan civilization movie ``Apocalypto'' emerged from a crowded marketplace to open in first place at the box office with an estimated weekend gross of $14.2 million.

Males flocked to the extremely violent R-rated film on Friday, despite its subtitles and little-known actors. By Saturday, the audience had shifted more to couples, and aggressive marketing in the Spanish-language media paid off with a substantial Latino audience taking in the film, distributor Walt Disney Co. said Sunday.

``We surprised an awful lot of people,'' said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's Buena Vista Distribution. ``Mel made a really good movie, and people judged him on his movie, which I think is terrific. I think what you have here is a movie that absolutely stirs conversation.''

``Apocalypto'' is the Oscar-winning Gibson's first film release since he made worldwide headlines for an anti-Semitic tirade during his arrest last summer in Malibu for drunk driving. At that point, the commercial prospects for the film appeared doomed, as did Gibson's career, which had reached a high point two years before with the surprise blockbuster ``The Passion of the Christ,'' which he also directed and produced.

But the actor-turned-director has tried to publicly make amends in interviews, including an appearance on Jay Leno's ``Tonight Show'' Thursday night.

``It doesn't surprise me that `Apocalypto' was No. 1, because of all the press attention paid to the film and to Mel Gibson,'' observed Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Media by Numbers. ``The awareness made it No. 1. People were so aware of this movie. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing about this.''

``Apocalypto'' dislodged the animated movie ``Happy Feet'' from first place after a three-week reign and managed to out-gross new releases ``The Holiday,'' ``Blood Diamond'' and ``Unaccompanied Minors'' as well as push the new James Bond movie ``Casino Royale'' out of second place for the first time since its release a month ago.

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

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