`BEST MAN' GETS BETTER OF `FORCES'; WORLD SERIES, FOOTBALL AFFECT MOVIE WEEKEND.Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer Matrimonial mat·ri·mo·ny n. pl. mat·ri·mo·nies The act or state of being married; marriage. [Middle English, from Old French matrimoine, from Latin m comedy ruled at the nation's multiplexes as ``The Best Man'' easily won the top box office spot with an estimated $9.1 million at 1,346 theaters during a moderate Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday. Universal's ``The Best Man,'' in an echo of the late-summer success of ``Runaway Bride This article is about meanings of Runaway bride. For other uses of the word Runaway, see Runaway. A runaway bride is a bride who runs away from the wedding chapel, usually shortly before the ceremony, often due to so-called cold feet. ,'' took in an impressive $6,766 per-theater average. The tale of a group of African-American friends at a wedding party generated the only solid business among the half-dozen new films despite being shown at the fewest theaters of any Top 10 film. The film, produced by Spike Lee Noun 1. Spike Lee - United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957) Lee, Shelton Jackson Lee and directed by his cousin Malcolm Lee, stars Taye Diggs as a writer whose novel creates chaos when members of the wedding party discover the book borrows heavily from their lives. The gross was the lowest for a No. 1 film this year, replacing the $9.4 million weekend for ``Forces of Nature,'' and came during what is traditionally a slow moviegoing period with competition from baseball's World Series and the height of the football season. ``You can't expect big numbers this time of year, so the gross for `The Best Man' is pretty respectable,'' said industry tracker Arthur Rockwell. Studio distribution chief Nikki Rocco said she was thrilled by the performance and cited an aggressive e-mail campaign and strong sales by the movie's soundtrack album as key factors in winning the weekend. Robert Bucksbaum, president of the Reel Source tracking service, said Universal's campaign had been able to attract African-Americans and the date crowd. ``The audience for this film is usually not tapped into as much it should be,'' he added. Bucksbaum noted ``The Best Man'' performed similarly to another comedy with parallel themes, Paramount's ``The Wood,'' which opened in mid-July with $8.5 million at 1,191 theaters on its way to a final $24.5 million gross. Paramount's ``Double Jeopardy'' solidified so·lid·i·fy v. so·lid·i·fied, so·lid·i·fy·ing, so·lid·i·fies v.tr. 1. To make solid, compact, or hard. 2. To make strong or united. v.intr. its status as the top fall film by finishing second in its fifth weekend, declining only 25 percent to $7.7 million at 3,002 theaters to push its 31-day gross past $91 million. ``Jeopardy'' easily outdistanced 20th Century Fox's second weekend of ``Fight Club,'' which faded quickly from first to third with a 42 percent decline to $6.3 million at 1,966 theaters. Paramount's opening of Martin Scorsese's gritty grit·ty adj. grit·ti·er, grit·ti·est 1. Containing, covered with, or resembling grit. 2. Showing resolution and fortitude; plucky: a gritty decision. ambulance-driver drama ``Bringing Out the Dead Bringing Out the Dead is a 1999 English language motion picture. It is a dark drama about paramedics shot mostly at night in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan a neighborhood in New York City, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Nicolas Cage, Ving Rhames, John Goodman, and Tom ,'' which carried the strongest reviews of the new films, followed in fourth with an adequate $6.2 million at 1,936 sites. The studio noted the debut is similar to those of two other Scorsese films - ``The Color of Money'' and ``Goodfellas'' - each of which went on to gross more than $40 million. Bucksbaum said exit polls for ``Dead'' generated positive response, adding that expectations were not particularly high within the industry. ``Films released this time of year are not expected to do that well,'' he said. ``Most of them will be obsolete by the time the big holiday films start coming out next month.'' TOP MOVIES Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. theaters. 1. ``The Best Man,'' $9.1 million. 2. ``Double Jeopardy double jeopardy: see jeopardy. double jeopardy In law, the prosecution of a person for an offense for which he or she already has been prosecuted. In U.S. ,'' $7.7 million 3. ``Fight Club,'' $6.3 million. 4. ``Bringing Out the Dead,'' $6.2 million. 5. ``The Story of Us,'' $5.5 million. 6. ``American Beauty American Beauty n. A type of rose bearing large, long-stemmed purplish-red flowers. ,'' $5.4 million. 7. ``Three to Tango tango Spirited dance; also a South American ballroom dance. It evolved in the dance halls and, perhaps, the brothels of poorer districts of Buenos Aires, Arg., possibly influenced by the Cuban habanera. It was made popular in the U.S. ,'' $4.7 million. 8. ``Bats,'' $4.6 million. 9. ``Three Kings,'' $4.4 million. 10. ``The Sixth Sense,'' $4.3 million. CAPTION(S): Box Box: TOP MOVIES (See text) |
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