Experienced 'Virgin'

Image credit: The 40 Year Old Virgin: Suzanne Hanover

READ 'EM AND WEEP It was Steve Carell, not Matt Damon or Heath Ledger, who was the stud of the weekend

The 40 Year-Old Virgin was back for more this weekend, as Steve Carell's comedy held off The Brothers Grimm to maintain its perch atop the box office chart.

Thanks no doubt to strong word of mouth and a lack of much competition, Virgin saw only a 23 percent drop in its second weekend, grossing another $16.4 million, according to studio estimates. After 10 days, the comedy has earned $48.7 million.

The Brothers Grimm, the poorly reviewed fantasy directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, actually topped Virgin $5.2 million to $4.7 million on Friday, Grimm's opening day, but the siblings lagged behind on Saturday and Sunday, resulting in a weekend gross of $15.1 million.

Rounding out the top five were Red Eye, down 36 percent to $10.4 million; Four Brothers, which slipped 37 percent to $7.8 million; and Wedding Crashers, which fell 22 percent to $6.3 million, bringing its total to a fantastic $187.7 million.

The weekend's two other wide releases failed miserably. The Cole Hauser thriller The Cave, which managed only a $6.2 million debut, placed sixth, while the young-adult drama Undiscovered, costarring Ashlee Simpson, barely cracked the top 20, with a gross of $690,000 and a per-theater average of only $529. Undiscovered, indeed.