Boxoffice Report for the May 10-12

Sony's amazing "Spider-Man" once again scaled boxoffice heights as the web-slinger sat in the top spot and tangled up an estimated $72 million in its sophomore session -- the biggest second weekend in boxoffice history -- raising its cume to a staggering $223.6 million in just 10 days.

Prior to the release of "Spider-Man," the record for the biggest second weekend was held by 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace," which generated $66.9 million during the four-day Memorial Day weekend. Overall, "Spider-Man's" sophomore gross made for the fifth biggest weekend in history -- for both three-day and four-day sessions.

The Sam Raimi-helmed "Spider-Man" demonstrated muscular legs with a relatively scant 37% drop from its unprecedented record-shattering debut of $114.8 million. The strong second weekend hold flies in the face of many other huge openings not followed by a holiday weekend. Many of the films with the biggest openings last summer took drops of 50%-60% on their sophomore outings.

"Spider-Man" set another speed record at the boxoffice this weekend, swinging past the $200 million mark Saturday -- in a record nine days. The film bested "Phantom Menace," which took 13 days to hit $200 million, by four days, and has already captured the speed records at the $100 million and $150 million levels.

"Spider-Man" set an additional record as it pulled in an estimated $30.5 million Saturday, marking the first time a film ever grossed more than $30 million in a single day on its second weekend (HR 5/6).

Two new wide releases hit the marketplace this weekend and managed to generate respectable debuts despite the all-encompassing shadow of "Spider-Man."

In a counter-programming move, Fox's R-rated "Unfaithful" debuted in the second spot as the Regency Enterprises film garnered a solid opening with an estimated $14.2 million. The adultery-themed thriller, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane and directed by Adrian Lyne, has taken in an estimated $14.3 million since its Wednesday opening. "We're very, very pleased with the figures," said Rick Myerson, executive vp and general sales manager for Fox. "We were the grown-up alternative. With an adult-themed film, it's not about the opening weekend, it's more about the longevity of the run because adults don't rush out like kids do on the first weekend," Myerson said.

Sony's "The New Guy" arrived in the third spot with an estimated $9.5 million. The PG-13-rated comedy from Revolution Studios, starring DJ Qualls and helmed by Ed Decter, should be profitable as the negative cost was a low $13 million. "In a tough market, it managed to open well," said Jeff Blake, president of worldwide marketing and distribution.

Executives at Sony were still riding on cloud nine over the boxoffice levitation of "Spider-Man." "To drop only 37% the second weekend off a record-breaking Week 1 is probably "Spider-Man's" most gravity-defying feat yet," Blake said. "Week 2 was always about the movie -- and this movie has electric word-of-mouth and universal appeal," he added. The real test at the boxoffice will be this coming weekend; Fox's "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" hits theaters Thursday.

In the international markets, Spidey had his debut in Japan this weekend. "In the key cities, it's one of the biggest openings ever in Japan," said Blake, who noted that final figures were not available at press time and will be available Monday.

Blake was also keen on the strong marks its upcoming "Enough" scored in 593 sneaks with "Panic Room" this weekend. The Jennifer Lopez starrer, which opens May 24, scored a strong 90% in the top two boxes, with a 55% female audience and theaters at 60% capacity. The demographic for the PG-13 film was fairly broad, with 45% younger than 25.

Overall, the boxoffice at the nation's theaters continued a blistering pace as this weekend marked the 13th consecutive up frame, compared with last year. The estimated total for this weekend's top 12 films was $114.5 million, up a stunning 61% from the comparable session in 2001. The boxoffice for "Spider-Man" alone comprised a solid 63% of the cume for the top 12 films.

Sparked by "Spider-Man," last week's stellar session at the national boxoffice lifted the year-to-date total to an impressive 17% gain on 2001's record pace, while estimated year-to-date admissions were running ahead by a nearly 12% margin.

In the limited-release arena, IFC's "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" added 102 theaters in its fourth weekend and vaulted into the 12th slot with an estimated $1.1 million from a scant 249 venues. The romantic comedy-drama averaged a solid $4,418 per theater and has picked up an estimated $3.9 million to date. The distributor's "Y Tu Mama Tambien" grossed an estimated $622,995 from 291 locales, averaging $2,141 per theater and moving its total to about $9.3 million.

Sony Pictures Classics had two films enter the market this weekend. "The Lady and the Duke" grossed an estimated $26,200 from five locations. Director Eric Rohmer's French-language period drama averaged a hopeful $5,240 per theater. "Lagaan" debuted in two locations and took in an estimated $9,602, averaging $4,801 per theater. The Hindi film has collected an estimated $10,591 since its Wednesday opening in New York.

ThinkFilm's "The Mystic Masseur" was down a scant 5% on its sophomore frame, grossing an estimated $19,114 from two houses. The Merchant Ivory production averaged a strong $9,557 per theater and has amassed about $44,986 to date. "Masseur" expands next weekend into the top 12 markets and will be in 25 theaters.

The top films last year at this time were Universal's "The Mummy Returns" ($33.7 million), which was off 50% from its debut a week earlier, and Sony's "A Knight's Tale" ($16.5 million).

For the week ending May 9, the national boxoffice was up an outstanding 50% from the comparable seven-day period a year ago ($218.6 million vs. $145.9 million), and marked the first weekend this year to top $200 million. During 2001, the first $200 million week to register near the summer season did not occur until three weeks later -- during the week of the Memorial Day holiday. The year-to-date cume is running an estimated $380 million ahead of last year at this time ($2.87 billion vs. $2.45 billion).