Box Office: Musketeer Is Victorious

ByABC News
September 12, 2001, 6:40 PM

September 9 -- Duking it out for the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend were two former Calvin Klein underwear models, newcomer Justin Chambers and established leading man Mark Wahlberg.Although Wahlberg's name has more marquee value, his new movie, Rock Star, was noticeably action-free, paving the way for The Musketeer a blend of old-fashioned derring-do and newfangled, choreographed fight scenes to place first with $10.7 million.The updated riff on the Alexandre Dumas classic featured Chambers as the latest in a long line of screen D'Artagnans, this time romancing American Pie 2's Mena Suvari and dueling with Planet of the Apes' baddie Tim Roth. The battle-of-the-sexes comedy Two Can Play That Game, starring Vivica A. Fox and Morris Chestnut, placed second with $8.3 million. That's an impressive feat considering that it opened on the fewest number of screens in the Top 10 (1,297), giving it the best per-screen-average ($6,399) among wide releases this weekend.In Rock Star, Wahlberg plays a heavy metal fan who finds his greatest fantasy comes true when he becomes the lead singer of his favorite band. The rock 'n' roll story, which was loosely based on the real-life story of Judas Priest's recruitment of its second frontman, took in an estimated $6.17 million to place third

The Warner Bros. film's rank could easily change come Monday, when final numbers are released. Currently, Rock Star's take is estimated to be within a few thousand dollars of the fourth-ranked film Jeepers Creepers, and only approximately $75,000 up on the fifth-ranked The Others.

The three new releases claimed the top three spots, kicking most of last week's rankings down by three places each, such as last week's No. 1 film, Jeepers Creepers, which slid from first to fourth with an estimated $6.16 million.An exception to that slippage trend was The Others, which fell only one spot from fourth to fifth place with an estimated $6.1 million. The sleeper summer hit has grossed $67.6 million in five weeks.