Hot To Trot

I think it's safe to say that no one thought that the Nicolas Cage comic book flick Ghost Rider would again sit atop the cinema heap for the second week in a row--especially given how crowded the field of newcomers was.

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo::

Though taking the usual comic book plunge, 'Ghost Rider' held onto the top spot with an estimated $19.7 million, fending off 'The Number 23'

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Ian Mohr of Variety writes of the surprise results:

Sony's "Ghost Rider" ran roughshod over the B.O. competition for the second straight weekend, taking in $19.7 million, while a handful of widely released newcomers came in under expectations.

The Nicolas Cage comic book actioner has scared up $78.6 million in two weekends of release despite poor reviews from critics.

A batch of new titles had trouble gaining much of a toehold, but holdovers were able to maintain ground following a socko frame last weekend. Oscar weekend typically isn't a strong one at the box office, as movie fans flock to the tube Sunday night.

It was also the second frame in a row in which early tracking numbers didn't seem to hold up come Sunday morning.

New Line's "The Number 23," which had been tracking to perhaps scare up as much as $18 million-$20 million, debuted in second with $15.1 million.

Thriller did score a per-engagement average of $5,476 off 2,759 -- good enough to beat the per-print average of the more widely released "Ghost." And it was Jim Carrey's second highest R-rated opener to date after that of the 2000 Farrelly brothers comedy "Me, Myself & Irene." But the pic's perf perhaps demonstrated that [ticket buyers] weren't so keen on seeing funnyman Carrey in an edgy psychological potboiler. Pic also suffered from poor notices.

Carrey's last pic, "Fun With Dick and Jane," started with an OK opening weekend of $14.3 million before taking off to $110.3 million. That pic's numbers actually grew 15% in its second frame and posted very slight drops throughout most of its run.

Fox's R-rated big screen adaptation of the Comedy Central [series] "Reno 911!," dubbed "Reno 911!: Miami," pulled into the No. 4 spot.

Tracking suggested the pic might've been in the hunt for a No. 1 finish, and Fox had been on a roll with comedies, including "Night at the Museum" and "Epic Movie," but "Reno" arrested $10.4 million off 2,702 for a per-theater average of $3,849.

Warner Bros.' "The Astronaut Farmer" also landed softly, in ninth place, in its debut. Pic performed below what the studio expected, reeling in $4.5 million off 2,155.

One new highlight in the top 10 was Samuel Goldwyn and Roadside Attractions' release of "Amazing Grace." Political period piece wound up just behind "Farmer," with $4.3 million off just 791 screens for a nifty per-engagement average of $5,442.

And while Hollywood prepared to walk the red carpet at the Academy Awards, box office for pics in Oscar contention didn't jump too much over the weekend...

Continued...

Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly posts this headline in his weekend recap:

In its second week, Nic Cage's action flick beats out Jim Carrey's newcomer ''The Number 23''