CLAUSE 2 HAS BOX OFFICE CLOUT
The Santa Clause 2 debuted as the weekend's top move, trouncing I Spy. Overall, however, box office receipts were down steeply after climbing for seven straight weeks.
The Santa Clause 2, with Tim Allen returning as the film’s name sake, collected $29 million, more than double the opening numbers for Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson's action comedy. I Spy, based on the 1960s TV series, opened a weak third with $14 million.
The horror movie The Ring held up well, remaining No. 2 with $18.5 million and raising its 17-day total to $64.9 million. Last weekend's top flick, jackass the movie, fell to fourth place with $13.1 million.
The top 12 movies grossed $103.1 million, off 22% from the same weekend last year, when Monsters, Inc. debuted with $62.6 million.
Playing in 3,350 theaters, Santa Clause 2 averaged a healthy $8,657 per cinema, compared with $4,400 in 3,182 theaters for I Spy.
The long-running My Big Fat Greek Wedding was off just 9% from the previous weekend, coming in at No. 6 with $5.6 million. With a total of $185.2 million the film, shot on a budget of just $5 million, is on its way to becoming the fifth movie this year to top $200 million.
Next weekend, it’s all about Eminem’s 8 Mile.
