The juggernaut that is The Passion of the Christ continued to top the box office, taking in an estimated $33 million dollars in its third weekend of release. Slipping 41 percent from last weekend, “The Passion” has now grossed $264 million domestically since its release 18 days ago. By next weekend, it will have topped The Matrix Reloaded ($281.6 million) as the highest-grossing R-rated film ever.
Johnny Depp’s thriller Secret Window had to settle for second place, premiering with $19 million, behind the $23.4 million début of his last film, Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Mostly poor reviews didn’t help bring audiences in to Depp’s film.
Coming up the rear this week: third place finisher Starsky & Hutch, which fell 43 percent to $16 million, followed by Viggo Mortensen’s Hidalgo, which slipped 39 percent to $11.7 million. After 10 days, the two films have earned $51.5 million and $35.5 million, respectively.
Coming exactly one year after the first Cody Banks film, Frankie Muniz’s Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London opened with only $8 million, compared to $14.1 million for its predecessor. But at least it performed better than Val Kilmer’s drama Spartan, which couldn’t even manage $2,500 per theater, débuting with a relatively paltry $2 million.
