300 Takes Down Rock, Bullock Flicks

Sun., Mar. 18, 2007 1:56 PM PDT by Joal Ryan

300 remains unvanquished.

The gory battle epic blew past Sandra Bullock, Chris Rock and creepy dummies to hold on to the top spot at the weekend box office with an estimated haul of $31.2 million, Exhibitor Relations said.

In its first 10 days, the flick has grossed $127.5 million, more than any other film released this year, per Box Office Mojo stats.

300's latest victory came at the expense of the weekend's major new releases: Bullock's Premonition, Rock's I Think I Love My Wife and the dummies' Dead Silence.

All things considered, Premonition (third place, $18 million) was far from a horror show. The thriller's per-screen average ($6,358) was the second biggest of any movie in the top 10, trailing only the considerable 300. Overall, it was the biggest opener of Bullock's not-inconsiderable career. The star's previous best was The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which debuted with $16.2 million in 2002, stats showed.

Rock had a rougher time with his comedy I Think I Love My Wife (fifth place, $5.7 million). To put things in perspective, CB4 made more money ($6.1 million) on about 500 fewer screens some untold number of inflationary cycles ago back in 1993, per Box Office Mojo numbers. On the brighter side of disappointment, I Think I Love My Wife did outdo Rock's Pootie Tang, which opened with $1.5 million in 2001.

The dummies of Dead Silence, meanwhile, did their best to uphold the box-office legacy of demonic playthings. Their $7.8 million opening (fourth place) was on par with Chucky's 2004 effort in Seed of Chucky ($8.8 million).

Elsewhere, Wild Hogs rode on with another $18.8 million (second place). Though not as flashy as 300, the baby boomer comedy's cumulative take after three weekends is nearly as impressive: $104 million.

Nicolas Cage, likewise, continued to get mileage from Ghost Rider (seventh place, $4 million; $110.2 million overall).

Jim Carrey's The Number 23 ($1.8 million) fell out of the top 10 in its fourth weekend, with the horror movie seemingly gassed after taking in $33.6 million overall.

In limited release, the period-piece The Wind That Shakes the Barley took advantage of its Irish setting and its St. Patrick's Day release to gross $130,000 on just 14 screens, Exhibitor Relations said.

The Namesake had another relatively big weekend ($692,000; $1.1 million overall), posting the best per-screen average ($16,878), per Box Office Mojo.

Here's a rundown of the top 10 films based on Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. 300, $31.2 million
2. Wild Hogs, $18.8 million
3. Premonition, $18 million
4. Dead Silence, $7.8 million
5. I Think I Love My Wife, $5.7 million
6. Bridge to Terabithia, $5.1 million
7. Ghost Rider, $4 million
8. Zodiac, $3.1 million
9. Norbit, $2.7 million
10. Music and Lyrics, $2.2 million