Disney battles 'Minority' for top spot
Cougar Entertainment Services
Both Minority Report and Disney's Lilo and Stitch went
into the weekend with rave reviews and a mass of moviegoers waiting to
re-experience what Spider-Man and Attack of the Clones did
for the beginning of summer.
The appeal of Steven Spielberg's fine filmmaking and Tom Cruise's sparkling
smile propelled Minority Report into theaters as it did well enough
to earn the top spot at the box office this weekend, raking in an estimated
$36.9 million.
The science fiction thriller follows a Pre-Crime officer who finds himself
falsely accused of a murder he has yet to commit. It also stars Samantha
Morton, Colin Farrell and Max Von Sydow.
Not too far behind is Lilo and Stitch, which earned a reported
$35.8 million. The animated comedy following Lilo, a lonely Hawaiian girl,
and Stitch, a mischief-making alien, clearly appeals to audiences of all
ages.
With the hype that surrounded Minority, it's close enough to
call it a tie and consider Lilo and Stitch as one of the summer's
many surprises.
In their second week, Scooby-Doo, based on the television cartoon,
came in third with $24.4 million and the spy thriller The Bourne Identity,
starring Matt Damon, placed fourth with $14.8 million.
Scooby-Doo, which stars celebrity couple Sarah Michelle Gellar
and Freddie Prinze Jr., has already earned $100 million. The film also
stars Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini.
With the success of The Bourne Identity, it wouldn't be a surprise
to see Damon either reprise his role as the spy agent with amnesia or fill
another action role.
The critically acclaimed thriller, The Sum of All Fears followed
by adding $7.9 million to its earnings thus far.
The film, which is based on Tom Clancy's novel of the same name, has
received mixed reviews from audiences because the threat of nuclear war
forms the base of the story's premise.
Moviegoers who have followed the Clancy franchise of novels-turned-movies
were also reluctant to accept that Ben Affleck replaced Harrison Ford in
the role of Jack Ryan.
Nicholas Cage's war drama Windtalkers ($6.7 million), the comedy
Juwanna Mann ($6.0 million) and the sappy Divine Secrets of the
Ya-Ya Sisterhood ($5.7 million) made the top 10 with chump-change earnings.
George Lucas' Star Wars-Attack of the Clones: Episode II and
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man rounded out the list by scraping in $ 5.1
and $ 4.4 million, respectively.
The comic-based blockbuster Spider-Man has earned the most at
the box office this summer with $390 million.
Eminem show continues to reign
Controversial rapper Eminem has hushed critics and overwhelmed audiences
with what is considered his best album yet, The Eminem Show.
After debuting at No. 1 four weeks ago, the album continues to sell
and fend off other artists for the top spot in music.
Korn's Untouchables debuted by filling the second slot on the
list. The band's highly anticipated follow-up to Issues was well
received by critics and fans alike.
Totally Hits 2002 dropped to No. 3 since it debuted two weeks
ago. The compilation album includes singles by P.O.D., Default and Michelle
Branch.
P. Diddy and Bad Boy Records Present: We Invented the Remix and
Ashanti's self-titled album fell to No.s 5 and 6, respectively.
The soundtrack to Joel and Ethan Coen's black comedy O Brother Where
Art Thou?, which stars George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, John Turturro,
John Goodman and Holly Hunter, rose quite a bit from last week's No. 19
to No. 7 after debuting more than a year ago.
Donell Jones' Life Goes On at No. 9 and Avril Lavigne's Let
Go at No. 10 round out the list.
