Moviegoers revealed an insatiable appetite for extra large lizards this weekend, as ''Jurassic Park III'' snagged the No. 1 spot at the box office with $50.3 million. Analysts were hardly surprised that the third installment in the $1.5 billion sci-fi franchise -- which has earned $80.9 million since opening July 18 -- did not reach the $90 million record of its 1997 predecessor, ''Jurassic Park: The Lost World.'' ''By the time you get to number three, the concept just isn't as fresh,'' points out Gitesh Pandya of box officeguru.com.
But the 90 minute sequel from director Joe Johnston (''October Sky'') -- who replaced previous ''Jurassic'' helmer, exec producer Steven Spielberg - delivers the kind of fast paced action that audiences had been longing for after weeks of brainier offerings like Spielberg's automaton drama ''A.I.'' and the hyperreal CGI flick ''Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.'' In the summer you have to give the people what they want,'' says Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. '''Jurassic Park III' is the definition of a summer popcorn movie and that translates into big money.''
The star crowded marquee of ''America's Sweethearts'' -- featuring Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Billy Crystal -- also translated into healthy box office returns. The romantic comedy scored a $31 million opening for the No. 2 spot. Meanwhile, the Reese Witherspoon comedy ''Legally Blonde'' snagged another $11.05 million for No. 3, while the Robert De Niro heist picture ''The Score'' nailed $10.75 million for a fourth place finish. The canine carnival ''Cats & Dogs'' rounded out the top five with $6.77 million. But those friendly furballs are likely to roll out of the top five when the summer's hairiest foe of all, ''Planet of the Apes,'' opens next weekend.
''Jurassic Park III'' might be what most people want -- but EW.com readers tend to be discriminating. Overall, readers were more satisfied with the film than critics, scoring the sequel a ho-hum B- compared to the scribes' unimpressed C. But less than half indicated that they would recommend the fossils to friends, and 35 percent said that they were very unlikely to see the film again. Still, some 46 percent said that the third-timer surpassed their middling expectations. Score one for director Johnston, whose streamlined feature reveals a healthy understanding of the term ''attention span.''
Julia and pals kept EW.com readers awake as well. Overall, voters also scored the ensemble comedy a B- (while critics averaged C-) and -- surprise! -- an overwhelming 84 percent said they saw the film for its stars. After the show, 46 percent reckoned that the inside Hollywood film met their expectations, while 50 percent said they would recommend the movie to friends. In the end, both ''Jurassic'' and ''Sweethearts'' are excellent examples of what big shiny teeth can do for the box office.
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