Box Office: Legends, Exorcist Scare Up Business

September 24 -- Halloween came early at the box office, as audiences surged to see Urban Legends: Final Cut and the re-release of The Exorcist, both of which can be called horrific, but for far different reasons

Urban Legends, the sequel to the 1998 movie, featured a mostly no-name cast (unless you count ex-Blossom boy Joey Lawrence) in what critics dismissed as a tired retread of the teen slasher genre. It took in an estimated $8.8 million to top the box office.

Exorcist: Still ScaryThe Exorcist, which many feel still lives up to its reputation as "the scariest movie of all time," returned to theaters with previously unseen footage and digitally enhanced sound. Although it played on just 664 screens, it captured the No. 2 spot with $8.5 million, and a per-screen-average of $12,801. The theatrical run precedes the release of the new version on DVD.

The other newsworthy charter this week is Almost Famous, which continues to expand slowly across the country. The '70s-era music story came in at No. 3 with $7 million. DreamWorks plans to add 400 to 500 more screens for the well-reviewed film next week.

Cruz is Hot, but not a Woman on TopHot Spanish import Penélope Cruz didn't quite fulfill the title of Woman on Top, which opened in tenth place with $1.9 million. Still, the "it" status of the photogenic international beauty is undeniable. Look for her in upcoming movies opposite Tom Cruise (Vanilla Sky), Johnny Depp (Blow), Nicolas Cage (Captain Corelli's Mandolin), and Matt Damon (All the Pretty Horses).Meanwhile, the so-so suspenser The Watcher, which has topped a tepid slate of films for the last two weeks, dropped to fifth place, while the suburban ghost tale What Lies Beneath proved its staying power by making the Top 10 for the tenth week. The Keanu Reeves-James Spader thriller has so far pulled in $22.7 million, while Beneath's ten-week total is $148.5 million. Beneath and another Top Ten oldtimer, Space Cowboys, tied for eighth place in early box office estimates.