"Kangaroo" Hijacks Box Office

Crikey, mate. The 'roo's aces!

Kangaroo Jack hopped in as the new number-one movie, pocketing an amazing $21.9 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Even National Security couldn't prevent the hijack.

Jack, a PG-rated Warner Bros. caper about Brooklyn mobsters Down Under, stars Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson in pursuit of a thieving CGI-animated marsupial. The film ducked the boomerang of critical slams to average an estimated $7,700 per screen at 2,818 sites over the long weekend.

That put the Jerry Bruckheimer production (which had added more 'roo scenes after the pesky critter, decked out in stolen duds and dark glasses, tested better with preview audiences than the actors) was a solid jump ahead of another new arrival that had also earned critical brickbats: National Security.

The PG-13 Sony buddy comedy (taken down off the shelf after almost two years and tossed out during this dumping season when the Industry's focus is elsewhere--i.e., touting films they can be proud of for awards) teams up Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn as a security guard and an ex-cop out to bust a smuggling ring. It managed to nab $16.8 million from a $6,161 average at 2,729 sites for the four days.

The debut of these two movies dumped last week's headliner, Just Married, down to the third spot. Ashton and Brittany's romantic comedy earned $13.8 million to up its two-week total to $35.3 million, almost double its modest production cost.

Meanwhile, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers grossed $12.5 million over the holiday period, passing the $300 million domestic gross mark after just five weeks.

The third movie chucked into wide release this weekend was A Guy Thing, an eve-of-wedding-doubts comedy in which Jason Lee bounces between his commitment to his fiancée (Selma Blair) and his attraction to her cousin (Julia Stiles). The movie was left at the altar, only managing to score $8 million in seventh place. The PG-13 MGM release averaged a mere $3,183 at 2,515 sites.

In limited release, City of God, Miramax's gritty foreign-language drama set in Rio de Janeiro's slums, opened in just five sites, averaging an admirable $23,000 for $114,000.

Two hot Oscar contenders and current award winners added more screens and upped their business. Chicago held to sixth place, but its take kicked up 34 percent from last weekend. The Miramax musical's $17,494 screen average at 557 sites earned $9.7 million to bring its four-week gross to $29.4 million. The Hours moved up to ninth place from 22nd last weekend, improving 412 percent. The Paramount emotional drama's $14,277 average at 402 sites earned $5.7 million to bring its four-week gross to $7.4 million.

Love for a different scene-stealing Jack with a fondness for shades--Mr. Nicholson--cooled a bit. About Schmidt, in which the wild man plays a dull man, fell to eighth place from fifth last weekend, despite adding 81 more sites. But even with a two percent drop-off, the movie took in $6.8 million (averaging $7,212 average at 946 theaters), and the New Line release has now grossed $30.7 million in six weeks.

Overall, the top 12 films grossed $120.1 million over the holiday weekend, down about 7 percent from this time last year.

Here are the top 10 movies for the four-day period as tallied by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Kangaroo Jack, $21.9 million
2. National Security, $16.8 million
3. Just Married, $13.8 million
4. Catch Me If You Can, $12.52 million
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, $12.5 million
6. Chicago, $9.7 million
7. A Guy Thing, $8 million
8. About Schmidt, $6.8 million
9. The Hours, $5.7 million
10. Two Weeks Notice, $4.7 million

(Originally published 1/19/03 at 11:55 a.m. PT.)