WEEKEND REPORT :: September 20-21

1.  Underworld ($22,000,000)
2.  The Fighting Temptations ($13,200,000)
3.  Secondhand Lions ($12,800,000)
4.  Once Upon a Time in Mexico ($11,500,000)
5.  Cold Creek Manor ($8,300,000)
6.  Matchstick Men ($7,800,000)
7.  Cabin Fever ($3,900,000)
8.  Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star ($3,800,000)
9.  Pirates of the Caribbean ($3,400,000)
10. Lost in Translation ($2,800,000)

To nobody’s surprise, Underworld took first place this weekend proving that skintight catsuits and werewolf slaughtering can make it easy to overlook a threadbare plot and weak character development. Underworld brought in $22 million dollars which means it has already recouped it’s production costs and you can expect Underworld 2 around the same time Freddy and Jason get together for another re-match.

For family audiences looking for something a little more sanitized, The Fighting Temptations and Secondhand Lions both enjoyed larger than expected openings. Temptations brought in $13.2 million, most of this from people who thought they were paying to see Cuba Gooding Jr. wear Billy Bob teeth and act like a retard. Unfortunately, RADIO is still a few months away. Secondhand Lions brought in $12.8 million.

The weekends other major new releases didn’t fare as well. Cold Creek Manor opened in fifth place with a measly $8.3 million. Woody Allen’s latest Anything Else was literally off the charts, with a mere $1.7 million. Dreamworks had hoped to boost the success of this film by basically promoting it as a Jason Biggs/Christina Ricci romantic comedy. Unfortunately, this technique backfired, resulting in the worst opening for any of Allen’s Dreamwork’s films.