‘Nemo’ hooks viewers over ‘2 Fast,’ ‘Homicide’

“Finding Nemo,” the Disney/Pixar animated hit, swam back into the No. 1 spot this weekend, pushing the street racing sequel “2 Fast, 2 Furious” to second place.

So far, “Nemo” has proved to be one of the more durable major movies of the summer, grossing $29.2 million over the weekend for a total of $192.3 million since its release three weeks ago.

“2 Fast” lost momentum immediately after its premiere at No. 1 last weekend, and was unable to overcome unfavorable comparisons to its forerunner, “The Fast and the Furious.” It plunged 62%, and only on its opening day has “2 Fast” outgrossed “Nemo.”

But the biggest disappointment was Columbia Pictures/Revolution Studios’ “Hollywood Homicide,” a police comedy that paired Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. The poorly reviewed film grossed only $11.7 million on 2,840 screens.

Despite a marketing and publicity blitz that included a People magazine story with the 60-year-old Ford opening up about his relationship with actress Calista Flockhart, the film debuted at No. 5.

The film, which cost at least $75 million to make and another $20 million to market, will likely have a hard time hanging on with high-profile movies arriving weekly.

“Obviously we were hoping for more,” said Tom Sherak, a partner at Revolution Studios, which produced the film. “If you don’t have the movie in with [high] Friday night numbers then it gets very hard.” The movie’s performance is also bad news for Ford, whose last film was the disastrous “K-19: The Widowmaker,” which grossed a paltry $35.1 million domestically. Ford has not had a hit since the 2000 thriller “What Lies Beneath.”

Opening at No. 4 ahead of “Hollywood Homicide” was Paramount’s “Rugrats Go Wild,” the third installment of Nickelodeon’s popular animated series. It grossed an estimated $12.5 million on 3,041 screens. New Line Cinema’s prequel comedy, “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd” opened with $11.1 million.

Among films in limited release, the Mexican political satire “Herod’s Law” grossed $6,000 in an exclusive engagement at Landmark’s Regent in Westwood. The French film “Jet Lag” logged $20,000 in two theaters in New York and L.A.

Magnolia Pictures expanded the controversial documentary “Capturing the Friedmans” on Friday to the Los Angeles area, and the movie brought in another $225,000 on 38 screens. It has grossed $430,000 since its release two weeks ago.

“Whale Rider,” an independent New Zealand film, grossed a hefty $15,005 in 11 theaters. In its second week, the film has brought in $360,716.

Chen Kaige’s drama “Together” brought in $141,000 in 42 theaters for a total of $409,000 since its release May 29.

Box office was down an estimated 24.2% from last weekend, with the top 12 films bringing in about $118.5 million compared to $153 million for the prior frame. It also was down 23.9% from the same period last year.

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Box Office

Preliminary results based on studio projections.

*--* Movie 3-day gross Total (millions)

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*--* Finding Nemo $29.2 $192.3

2 Fast 2 Furious $19.1 $84

Bruce Almighty $14.2 $193.8

Rugrats Go Wild $12.5 $12.5

Hollywood Homicide $11.7 $11.7

Dumb and Dumberer $11.1 $11.1

The Italian Job $9.5 $55.3

The Matrix Reloaded $5.5 $257.3

Daddy Day Care $2.1 $92.2

X2: X-Men United $1.6 $207.2 Source: Nielsen EDI Inc Los Angeles Times

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