LITTLE LARGE AT BOX OFFICE

Stuart Little 2, the sequel about the lovable rodent with Michael J. Fox's voice, debuted with $15.6 million, a whisker ahead of Road to Perdition, the Depression-era gangster tale starring Tom Hanks that grossed $15.57 million in its second weekend.

Men in Black II, the No. 1 movie for two straight weekends, fell to third place with $15 million, lifting its 19-day total to $158.6 million.

The top 12 films grossed $104.4 million for Friday through Sunday. That was down 23% from the same weekend last year and broke a string of six straight weekends of rising revenues.

Harrison Ford's Soviet submarine drama K-19: The Widowmaker premiered at No. 4 with $13.1 million, while the giant-bug flick Eight Legged Freaks, starring David Arquette, was seventh with $6.7 million, pushing its total to $9.3 million since opening Wednesday.

Tadpole, a comedy hit at the Sundance Film Festival, opened strongly in limited release, taking in $80,000 at six theaters.

The original Stuart Little debuted with $15 million just before Christmas in 1999, then held on weekend after weekend and became a $140 million hit.

Mr. Deeds rounds out the top 5, taking in $7.3 million.