The Musketeer was the new number one movie this weekend, debuting with $10.3 million at the box office, according to final studio figures Monday.
It was a modest victory, but a victory nevertheless for yet another reworking of Alexander Dumas classic swashbuckling tale. This time around, the story got a Matrix-style overhaul with gravity-defying computer-generated stunts and featured Tim Roth as the dastardly villain. The per-screen average was a mere $4,200, but since Universal had tossed the PG-13-rated action romance into 2,438 theaters during this doldrums season, that was enough exposure to buckle up a win.
Two Can Play That Game, the romantic comedy starring Vivica A. Fox, had the moral victory of earning a higher per-screen average, but the R-rated Sony/Screen Gems release only opened at 1,297 sites. Its $6,000 per site added up to $7.7 million for second place.
But there was no good news at all for the third new entry, Rock Star. The R-rated Warners release, starring Mark Wahlberg as a wannabe rocker whose dreams are fulfilled when he gets to front an '80s heavy metal band and Jennifer Aniston as his tag-along girlfriend, had a tuneless opening. It came in fourth place with just $6.02 million, a measly $2,400 average at each of its 2,525 theaters.
Last week's number one, the horror flick Jeepers Creepers, went shut-eye. Losing 53 percent of its opening audience, the flick dropped to third place with $6.2 million.
O also took a dive. The updated Shakespearean saga lost 52 percent of its opening week audience, down from seventh to 10th place with just $2.7 million.
Soul Survivors, yet another college-based horror movie, was released almost undercover by Artisan and almost vanished into thin air. At 601 theaters it debuted with just $1.1 million.
In just four theaters, Our Lady of the Assassins, the Spanish-language portrait of a gay writer dying in the harsh confines of Colombian city ruled by a cocaine cartel, had the highest per-screen average, $14, to debut with $56,000.
Here are the top 10 weekend movies as compiled by Exhibitor Relations from final studio tallies:
1. The Musketeer, $10.3 million
2. Two Can Play That Game, $7.7 million
3. Jeepers Creeepers, $6.2 million
4. Rock Star, $6.02 million
5. The Others, $6 million
6. Rush Hour 2, $5.8 million
7. American Pie 2, $4.7 million
8. Rat Race, $4.5 million
9. The Princess Diaries, $3.4 million
10. O, $2.7 million
(originally published 9/9/01 at 1:20 p.m. PT)