September 17th, 2002

Top Cut

Backed by critical raves and a fair deal of marketing, Barbershop snipped its competition by opening in the top spot with a surprisingly strong 20.6 million. Is this MGM's first hit of the year, FINALLY!? In second... yes, again, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was shut out from the top spot, finally passing 100 million and scoring 10.7 million. It could be well on its way to becoming the top independent grosser of all time, surpassing 1999's summer hit, "The Blair Witch Project." Time will certainly tell here, but with CBS picking up a "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" sitcom for midseason, it's pretty safe to say this little film that could will be staying fresh in the minds of many (and wait until the DVD release!).

In its first weekend of wide release, One Hour Photo debuted with a pretty solid 8 million (I saw the film a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it). Tying for fourth and fifth was last weekend's top film, Swimfan, and the new Jason Lee and Tom Green comedy (which was scorched by the critics), Stealing Harvard. Each took in 6 million.

Signs is slowing down, raking in 5.4 million for a seventh place, while last week's new drama, City By The Sea, took a major dive with 4.8 million. Rounding out the top ten are three late summer releases, all on their way out: XXX, Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams and Austin Powers In Goldmember, each upping their tally counts slightly with 3.3, 2.7 and 1.8 million, respectively.

-Zach B.