LOS ANGELES (AP):
THE 20th Century Fox family tale Ice Age: The Meltdown took in $34.5 million to remain the No. 1 movie for a second straight weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The animated sequel fended off Sony's Rob Schneider-David Spade baseball comedy The Benchwarmers, which debuted as runner-up with $20.5 million.
Premiering in third place was New Line's Take the Lead, a ballroom dance tale starring Antonio Banderas that took in $12.8 million.
The Weinstein Co. crime romp Lucky Number Slevin, starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley, debuted at No. 5 with $7.1 million. Fox Searchlight's comedy Phat Girlz, starring Mo'Nique as a designer of plus-sized clothes, premiered at No. 9 with $3.1 million.
Ice Age: The Meltdown, with Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo and Queen Latifah providing the voices of prehistoric creatures on the run from global warming, raised its 10-day domestic total to $116.4 million.
It became the first movie released this year to cross the $100 million mark. While the first few months of the year are Hollywood's slowest, the industry usually has produced a $100 million hit by February or March.
The Benchwarmers, about grown-up geeks taking on Little League baseball teams, did not screen in advance for critics, generally a sign the studio expects reviews would be bad.
Likewise, Phat Girlz did not screen in advance for critics, a practice becoming more common among studios. So far this year, 11 movies have not been shown to critics, compared to two during the same period in 2005.
Fox Searchlight did score with the well-reviewed satire Thank You for Smoking, which expanded to its widest release yet and broke into the top 10. Playing in 300 theatres, up from 126 the previous weekend, the film took in $2.4 million to come in at No. 10.
1. Ice Age: The Meltdown, $34.5 million.
2. The Benchwarmers, $20.5 million.
3. Take the Lead, $12.8 million.
4. Inside Man, $9.2 million.
5. Lucky Number Slevin, $7.1 million.
6. Failure to Launch, $4.1 million.
7. ATL, $3.75 million.
8. V for Vendetta, $3.4 million.
9. Phat Girlz, $3.1 million .
10. Thank You for Smoking, $2.4 million.
