Nicolas Cage’s blockbuster, National Treasure topped the list of most-seen movies for the third weekend in a row. The film sold another $17.1 million, bringing its total revenue to $110.2 million in its 17 days in theaters. National Treasure features Cage as a man with a life-long obsession to discover a fortune that was hidden by the founding fathers. The plot takes some interesting twists and turns, and keeps viewers on the edge of their seats until the dramatic conclusion.
Christmas with the Kranks, starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, was in second place with sales of $11.7 million. Its two week total is $45.5 million.
Tom Hank’s The Polar Express came in third, selling $11.0 million, bringing the total sales up to $96.4 million. This is still a long way from the $170 million that it cost to make this animated children’s story.
The Incredibles fell to #4, followed by The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie hung in at #5. These two films have grossed $226 million and $68.4 million respectively.
Closer, the new Mike Nichol’s drama starring new mom Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman, debuted in sixth place. Closer, which was released to a limited number of theaters, sold $7.7 million. However, considering that this movie only played in 476 theaters, as opposed to the 3,243 that featured National Treasure, Closer is on track to be a big seller once it is released to a wider audience.
And what about Alexander, Oliver Stone’s historical epic, which cost an estimated $170 million dollars to make? The movie finished seventh, selling just $4.7 million for a total of $29.7 million in its first twelve days.