ALONG CAME POLLY TAKES THE RING

Along Came Polly, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Anniston and Ben Stiller stretching his chops as a romantically befuddled man broke the Martin Luther King Jr. three-day box office record, taking in $27.6 million. It’s a dream come true for civil rights advocates.

The film knocked the third Lord of the Rings film from its month-long perch at the top; Return of the King fell to fourth on $10.3 million. Tim Burton’s Big Fish continues to build an audience, finishing in second place with $10.4 million. The week’s other big debut was Torque, a motorcycle-chase fueled flick, starring Ice Cube, which was nothing like The Fast and the Furious, because it involves motorcycles. Also, because it only did $10.3 million.

Here’s the rest of the Top 10: #5 Cheaper By the Dozen ($8.7m); #6 Cold Mountain ($7m); #8 My Baby’s Daddy ($3.6m); #9 The Last Samurai ($3.12m); #10 Calendar Girls ($3.10m).