March 9th, 2004

Still "Passion"-ate

The juggernaut that is Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ continues to dominate the box office and moviegoers across North America. Pulling in a jawdropping 53.2 million over its second weekend of release and over 200 million in total, it may not be a total shock if the film tops 400 million. Right behind it were the weekend's two new releases, each pulling in very strong debuts. The praised Starsky and Hutch, based on the 70s cop show, pulled in 28.1 million. The horse race "is-it-fact-or-fiction" drama Hidalgo pulled in a healthy 18.8 million. Each film should enjoy strong runs during the spring season.

Dropping to fourth was the romantic comedy 50 First Dates with 7.6 million while the panned thriller Twisted took a big dip with only 5.1 million this weekend. Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen pulled in another 4 million, while The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King rose a few spots with 3 million (hot off its major Oscar wins). Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights is officially a flop as it only took in another 2.9 million this weekend, while the hockey drama Miracle is on the verge of taking in 60 million by adding another 2.5 million to its gross. Rounding out the top ten was Monster, with Charlize Theron's Oscar-winning performance, this weekend taking in 2.1 million.

Will Johnny be able to outgross Jesus next weekend? As always, stay tuned DVD fans!

-Zach B.