LOS ANGELES — Kris Kringle's latest sleigh ride took off at the box office.
"The Santa Clause 2," with Tim Allen returning as St. Nick in search of a wife, debuted as the No. 1 movie with $29 million in its opening weekend.
The horror flick "The Ring" remained in second place with $18.1 million, while Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson's action comedy "I Spy" opened a weak third with $12.8 million.
The top 20 movies at North American theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. and Nielsen EDI Inc. are:
1. "The Santa Clause 2," Disney, $29 million, 3,350 locations, $8,659 average, $29 million, one week.
2. "The Ring," DreamWorks, $18.1 million, 2,808 locations, $6,452 average, $64.5 million, three weeks.
3. "I Spy," Sony, $12.8 million, 3,182 locations, $4,008 average, $12.8 million, one week.
4. "jackass: the movie," Paramount, $12.7 million, 2,530 locations, $5,032 average, $42.1 million, two weeks.
5. "Ghost Ship," Warner Bros., $6.7 million, 2,787 locations, $2,388 average, $21.3 million, two weeks.
6. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," IFC Films, $5.6 million, 1,977 locations, $2,844 average, $185.2 million, 29 weeks.
7. "Sweet Home Alabama," Disney, $4.6 million, 2,441 locations, $1,884 average, $113.4 million, six weeks.
8. "Punch-Drunk Love," Sony, $4 million, 1,252 locations, $3,198 average, $10.9 million, four weeks.
9. "Red Dragon," Universal, $2.7 million, 1,949 locations, $1,400 average, $89 million, five weeks.
10. "Brown Sugar," Fox Searchlight, $1.7 million, 854 locations, $1,958 average, $24.6 million, four weeks.
11. "Bowling for Columbine," MGM-UA, $1.54 million, 162 locations, $9,514 average, $4.5 million, four weeks.
12. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie," Artisan, $1.5 million, 1,604 locations, $931 average, $21.6 million, five weeks.
13. "Tuck Everlasting," Disney, $1.48 million, 1,237 locations, $1,193 average, $16.1 million, four weeks.
14. "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones," Fox-IMAX, $1.4 million, 75 locations, $19,226 average, $1.4 million ($303.6 million total domestic gross), one week in large-format IMAX theaters.
15. "The Transporter," Fox, $1.3 million, 1,114 locations, $1,157 average, $23.6 million, four weeks.
16. "The Truth About Charlie," Universal, $1.26 million, 755 locations, $1,665 average, $4.2 million, two weeks.
17. "Barbershop," MGM, $1.16 million, 1,173 locations, $988 average, $72.7 million, eight weeks.
18. "The Tuxedo," DreamWorks, $1.15 million, 1,255 locations, $917 average, $48.2 million, six weeks.
19. "Frida," Miramax, $1 million, 47 locations, $21,295 average, $1.3 million, two weeks.
20. "Abandon," Paramount, $876,788, 1,731 locations, $507 average, $9.8 million, three weeks.