The Mouse That Roared

Image credit: Stuart Little 2: Sony Pictures Imageworks

MIGHTY MOUSE ''Stuart Little 2'' will likely drive lots of families to theaters its opening weekend

Is Harrison Ford stronger than a mouse? We'll find out this weekend, as ''K-19: The Widowmaker'' takes on ''Stuart Little 2'' at the box office.

Coming three years after the first ''Stuart Little'' grossed $140 million domestically and became an even bigger hit on video, ''SL2'' also features the rodent who sounds a lot like Michael J. Fox, along with family-pleasing special effects. Kids across the country have been counting down the days to this one, which should result in a fantastic opening. Expect ''Stuart Little 2'' to almost double the $15 million opening of the original and bring in about $28 million for the weekend's top spot.

Close behind will be Ford's latest action thriller, ''K-19,'' in which the 60-year-old superstar plays a Russian submarine commander battling his second-in-command (Liam Neeson) and attempting to avert a nuclear meltdown. Ford's last release, 2000's ''What Lies Beneath,'' premiered with $29.7 million, and his most recent politically based thriller, ''Air Force One,'' opened with $37.1 million. But lacking an all-American premise, ''K-19'' may have a hard time matching those numbers. Instead, ''K-19'' could debut with about $25 million.

Last week's top two films could finish in the third and fourth spots. After an impressive $22.1 million debut, Tom Hanks' mob drama ''Road to Perdition'' will see the smallest drop in the top 10, falling only about 35 percent to $14 million, while ''Men in Black II'' will slip another 45 percent or so to $13 million.

The week's other new wide release, ''Eight Legged Freaks,'' will try to muscle its way into the top four but may have to settle for a fifth-place finish. The horror comedy, starring David Arquette, opened Wednesday to get some, um, legs up on the competition, and the film should gross about $12 million over the three-day weekend. It better enjoy the opening, because silly, scary films like these usually don't have legs.