Usually, opening with $30 million in February is more than enough to guarantee you the No. 1 spot at the box office. But when you're up against a Will Smith movie, all bets are off.
Though Keanu Reeves' new thriller Constantine premiered as expected with $30.5 million, according to studio estimates, Smith's smash romantic comedy Hitch saw a second-weekend drop of only 26 percent, giving it another $31.8 million and the top slot. After 10 days, Hitch has earned a fantastic $90.1 million.
The weekend's two other new wide releases opened moderately. The family drama Because of Winn-Dixie, starring Jeff Daniels and musician Dave Matthews, grossed $10.9 million, while the poorly reviewed sequel Son of the Mask managed $7.7 million in its first weekend.
In advance of several possible victories at next weekend's Academy Awards, the Clint Eastwood/Hilary Swank boxing drama Million Dollar Baby slipped only 4 percent to $7.2 million, bringing its total to $54.7 million. If it picks up the five awards Entertainment Weekly has predicted (including Best Picture and Best Director), that number will skyrocket.
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