War drama BLACK HAWK DOWN, with visual effects by The Mill and Asylum, stayed on top of a crowded box office this weekend, earning $17M for a cume of $58.9M. Holding in second place were the talking dogs of SNOW DOGS, with $13.1M for a two-week total of $38.8M. Two new releases filled the fifth and sixth spots: THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO in fifth place with $11.4M and supernatural thriller THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, with visual effects by Cinesite, landed in sixth, earning $11.2M in its debut weekend. Buoyed by four Golden Globe wins, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, with primary visual effects by Digital Domain, edged out the competition to stay in fourth place with $11.5M and $92.8M to date. In the face of four new releases this weekend, LORD OF THE RINGS, with primary visual effects by WETA, fell five places to eighth, earning $7.8M in its sixth week for a total of $258.5M to date. Steve Oedekerks martial arts parody KUNG POW: ENTER THE FIST, with visual effects by Rhythm & Hues, opened with $7M for ninth place. OCEANS ELEVEN, with visual effects by E=mc2 and Cinesite, fell out of the top ten this weekend, bringing in $3.2M for $175M and eleventh place. The large-format re-release of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is performing well for Disney. After 4 weeks in theaters, the film has grossed $12.5M to land in the top 15 highest-grossing IMAX films of all time. Box office information obtained from yahoo.com.
