Box Office: Mummy Defeats Knight

ByABC News
May 15, 2001, 7:26 PM

May 13 -- The anachronistic medieval jousting adventure A Knight's Tale was measured and found wanting compared to last week's box-office juggernaut, The Mummy Returns.

For the second week in a row, the tale of Brendan Fraser and Co. versus the evil mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) topped the box office with an estimated $32.2 million, although its sales were down nearly 53 percent from its record-breaking first weekend.

A Knight's Tale, in which Aussie up-and-comer Heath Ledger tries to prove his mettle in his first major starring role, debuted with $17 million to take the No. 2 spot.

The Mummy sequel now stands at $116.5 million after 10 days. The special effects extravaganza took only nine days to pass the $100 million mark.

According to Nikki Rocco, president of distribution at Universal Pictures, despite the sales drop, the film is holding up better than recent hits like Mission: Impossible 2 and is on track to pass the $200 million mark.

Knight's Tale Told With Modern MusicA Knight's Tale, which is set in 14th-century Europe but features a soundtrack riddled with 20th-century hits like Queen's "We Will Rock You" and David Bowie's "Golden Years," cost $41 million to make and is expected to gross more than $80 million, according to Jeff Blake, president of worldwide distribution and marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

"I think this is the type of picture that audiences would certainly like if they get a chance to find it," said Blake. Soon the full slate of big summer films, such as Shrek, which opens May 18, and Pearl Harbor, which bow May 25, will hit theaters.

Spy Kids Passes $100 MillionIn a distant third this weekend was Bridget Jones's Diary with $4.5 million. Sylvester Stallone's racecar caper, Driven, edged ahead of the cop thriller Along Came a Spider by a mere $15,000, according to studio estimates. The films were ranked fourth and fifth, with a respective $3.02 million and $3 million.

The kiddie thriller Spy Kids also passed the century mark on Saturday night. The Robert Rodriguez adventure romp was ranked No. 6 this weekend with $2.5 million, and has pulled in $101.5 million after 45 days.