Denzel Washington’s ‘Inside Man’ tops box office

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Denzel Washington and director
Spike Lee scored the best opening of their careers on Sunday,
as the heist thriller “Inside Man” grabbed the No. 1 spot at
the weekend box office in North America with estimated ticket
sales of $29 million.

The film, which also stars Clive Owen and Jodie Foster, was
the top picture overseas as well, with sales of $9.6 million
from 18 countries, including No. 1 openings in Britain and
Germany, according to distributor Universal Pictures.

Washington’s previous best bow was the kidnap thriller “Man
on Fire,” which opened with $22.8 million in April 2004. Lee’s
best was the comedy concert “The Original Kings of Comedy,”
with $11 million in August 2000.

“Inside Man,” which cost about $45 million to make,
revolves around a cat-and-mouse game between a bank robber
(Owen) and a New York cop (Washington). Foster plays an
intermediary with her own agenda.

Universal said exit polling indicated that 68 percent of
the audience was aged 30 and older, and that male viewers
comprised 54 percent. Three-quarters of respondents said
Washington was their main reason for going. Universal Pictures
is a unit of General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal Inc.

GAME ON FOR ‘STAY ALIVE’

Last weekend’s champ, the futuristic terrorist drama “V for
Vendetta,” slipped to No. 2 with $12.3 million for the
Friday-to-Sunday period, taking its 10-day haul to $46.2
million. The film, starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman,
has earned about $17.7 million from 24 markets. It was released
by Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. Pictures.

The box office boasted two other new entries. Walt Disney
Co.’s video game thriller “Stay Alive,” which surpassed
expectations by opening at No. 3 with $11.2 million; and Lions
Gate Entertainment Corp.’s comedy “Larry the Cable Guy: Health
Inspector,” which opened at No. 7 with a modest $7.1 million.

“Stay Alive” revolves around a group of youngsters who
discover that players who lose the titular video game die
mysteriously. Three-quarters of the audience was aged 25 and
under, said Disney, which had been hoping for an opening in the
$7 million to $10 million range. “Stay Alive” marks the first
release under Disney’s resurrected Hollywood Pictures label,
which will focus on genre films.

“Larry the Cable Guy,” starring the popular blue-collar
stand-up comic, played mostly to male viewers over 21, Lions
Gate said. The studio had hoped for an opening in the $7
million to $9 million range.

Rounding out the top five, Paramount Pictures’ hit romantic
comedy “Failure to Launch” fell two to No. 4 with $10.8
million, followed by Walt Disney Pictures’ comedy remake “The
Shaggy Dog” with $9.1 million, also down two places. Their
respective totals stand at $63.9 million and $47.9 million,
both after three weeks. Paramount is a unit of Viacom Inc..