Dear Diary: Our movie rules!

In a movie-going weekend essentially considered a sideshow to Sunday's Oscars, Diary of a Mad Black Woman took the prize as the top-grossing picture.

Tyler Perry's faith-based dramedy, in which he costars as trash-talking grandmomma Madea, earned a big-momma-sized $21.9 million over its opening three days to score the surprise victory. The PG-13 Lions Gate release also averaged a whopping $14,771 per screen at just 1,483 sites.

"Every now and then a movie comes along that really surprises. No one could have predicted that astounding per-screen average," says Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, the company that tallies box-office receipts. He says that not only did Diary "really grab its target audience" but that the film's title was also attention-grabbing.

Perry's built-in fan base helped overcome mixed reviews for Diary, an adaptation of his play of the same name. The film stars Kimberly Elise in the title role as a jilted wife who rediscovers self-respect, romance and religious conviction when she returns to her old neighborhood, which is dominated by the outspoken, ballsy Madea. Perry has taken his cross-dressing act around the country for years.

The movie, which cost only about $5.5 million to produce, had particular appeal to black women over 25, but played well to a broad demographic. Lions Gate plans to widen distribution next weekend, and promotion includes Perry and the cast appearing on Oprah Winfrey's show this Friday.

"This is not a typical urban film. It has performed extremely well in numerous rural and suburban theaters, as well as in urban areas nationwide, and is demonstrating strong crossover appeal," Tom Ortenberg, Lions Gate's president of releasing, said in a statement Sunday. "Once again pushing the envelope of convention, we believe that Lions Gate has teamed up with Tyler Perry to create a brand-new film genre."

The distributor's faith in the New Orleans playwright as "a huge talent with enormous grass-roots support" was solidified even before Diary's big opening. Lions Gate is already planning a franchise, having signed Perry for a big-screen version of another play, Madea's Family Reunion, in which he stars in the title role.

Meanwhile, the other two major newcomers, Cursed and Man of the House, studio throwaways that weren't even screened for critics, failed to make much of a dent in the box office.

The former, a Wes Craven-produced werewolf flick starring Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg as brother and sister scared of turning into howlers, debuted down in fourth place with just $9.6 million. The R-rated Dimension release averaged only $3,434 at 2,805 sites.

Man of the House managed a slightly higher per-screen average ($3,682) at slightly fewer locations (2,422) to finish in fifth place with $8.9 million. Sony's PG-13 nominal comedy stars Tommy Lee Jones as a tough-guy cop assigned to guard a bunch of cheerleaders.

Hitch dropped out of the top slot after two weeks on top, but Will Smith's romantic comedy only fell 53 percent, earning $20.4 million in second place to bring its three-week total to $121.4 million.

In contrast, Constantine, Keanu Reeves' road trip through hell, dropped 60 percent in its second week, earning just $12 million in third place to bring its two-week haul to $51 million.

Sinking even faster is Son of the Mask, which slipped 49 percent in its second week, dropping all the way down from fourth to ninth place with just $3.8 million. The Jim Carrey-less sequel to 1994's The Mask has only collected $14 million.

Two Oscar contenders stayed in the top 10. Million Dollar Baby was in sixth place, earning $7.3 million to push its 11-week total to $64.9 million. The Aviator was in 10th place, earning $3.7 million to push its 11-week total to $93.6 million.

Sideways--the Oscar contender that was the big winner at the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday--just missed, finishing in 11th place with $3.5 million. Still, the modestly budgeted Fox Searchlight release is a major hit having grossed $63.2 million in 19 weeks.

There was also positive news for the main Fox studio. The cute-girl-meets-cute-dog flick Because of Winn-Dixie dropped from third to seventh place in its second week, but the falloff was a mere 3334 percent, and its $6.8 million brings the family film's gross to $22.3 million.

Ray and Finding Neverland, the other two contenders for the Best Picture Oscar, were only playing in limited release. At 134 sites, the Ray Charles biography starring Best Actor favorite Jamie Foxx (which is already on video) averaged $925 for $123,950; its 18-week gross stands at $75 million. At 776 sites, the tale of the Peter Pan man J.M. Barrie starring Johnny Depp averaged $2,353 for $1.8 million; its 16-week total is now $48 million.

Sunday's Oscars winners, of course, hope to get a solid boost next weekend.

Here's a rundown of the top 10 films based on final studio figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Diary of a Mad Black Woman, $21.9 million
2. Hitch, $20.4 million
3. Constantine, $12 million
4. Cursed, $9.6 million
5. Man of the House, $8.9 million
6. Million Dollar Baby, $7.32 million
7. Because of Winn-Dixie, $6.8 million
8. Are We There Yet?, $4.1 million
9. Son of the Mask, $3.8 million
10. The Aviator, $3.7 million

(Originally published Feb. 27, 2005 at 1:25 p.m. PT.)