"Guy" Shanghais "Knights"

A cute guy 'n' gal proved more attractive than two wild "knights."

The public, kissing off generally poor reviews, favored How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the romantic comedy pairing Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, over Shanghai Knights, the action comedy teaming Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. How to Lose a Guy scored $22.6 million over the weekend in first place, while Knights followed in second with $19.6 million, according to final studio tallies released Monday.

Expanding from limited to wide release, Chicago, the Oscar hopeful musical starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger, kicked up to third place with a rousing $10.8 million, a 53 percent gain from last weekend.

Debuting in considerably less theaters than the two top movies was Deliver Us from Eva, a comedy starring Gabrielle Union as a sassy shrew and LL Cool J as the guy sent to tame her. Eva delivered $6.6 million in sixth place.

Matt and Kate's sexual romp around Manhattan, as ambitious marketing and media singles trying to outwit each other, debuted so strongly it actually registered as the third best February opener ever. (Only gory horror flicks have scared up bigger opening grosses at this time of the year: Scream 3 snatched up $34.7 million in 2000, and Hannibal gobbled up a huge $58 million in 2001.)

The glossy caper, a PG-13 Paramount release, averaged $8,134 at 2,923 sites. With Valentine's Day looming next weekend, it looks like audiences may continue to see How to Lose a Guy as a hot date flick. Paramount executives, sorely in need of a hit, can smile, thanks to the public's love affair with the stars, and the stars' willingness to expose themselves to the fans.

Rob Friedman, chairman of Paramount's motion picture group, told the Associated Press, "In this case particularly I think they [the critics] were way too hard on the movie. The public just loves this movie. Kate and Matthew are a tremendous winning combination." He thinks that come Cupid time, when "guys definitely roll over for whatever a girl wants," there will be "more guys seeing the movie" than during this weekend.

Jackie and Owen's kick-ass romp through London, as the wacky kung-fu and wisecracking pair whacking bad Brits, earned more over its three-day opening weekend than the four-day gross of the pair's first team-up, Shanghai Noon, which debuted with $19.6 million over Memorial Day weekend 2000. Over its first three days, the original (which ultimately grossed $56.9 million) only made $15.6 million, averaging $5,757 per screen at 2,711 sites. The sequel's per-screen average this weekend was $7,121 at 2,753 sites.

Focus Features' R-rated Deliver Us from Eva averaged $5,837 at 1,139 sites. Miramax's PG-13 Golden Globe-winning Chicago, now at 1,841 sites after seven weeks of release, averaged $5,859. It has so far grossed $63.8 million.

Colin Farrell and Al Pacino's CIA adventure The Recruit, which debuted as number one last week, dropped 42 percent to fourth place, earning $9.2 million to bring its current gross to $29.8 million.

Exhibitor Relations, the company that tallies the receipts, reports the top 12 movies grossed a combined $102 million, a gain of 9 percent over last weekend and 21 percent over this time last year.

Here are the weekend's official top 10:

1. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, $23.81 million
2. Shanghai Knights, $19.6 million
3. Chicago, $10.8 million
4. The Recruit, $9.2 million
5. Final Destination 2, $8.4 million
6. Deliver Us From Eva, $6.6 million
7. Kangaroo Jack, $6.1 million
8. Biker Boyz, $4.2 million
9. Darkness Falls, $3.8 million
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, $3.5 million

(Originally published 2/09/03 at 2:45 p.m. PT.)