Easily proving that its critics have no teeth, Shark Tale swam to the top of the box-office reef, swallowing an estimated $49 million in three days. The story of an ambitious fish that gets into big problems for his false bravado, the film got mixed reviews. But the movie, voiced by a Hollywood bigwigs including Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, Martin Scorsese, Renee Zellwegger, Robert De Niro and Will Smith, clearly pleased young audiences who don't read reviews.

Its solid but unspectacular opening could mean the film will eventually gross at least $160 million in North America. Shrek 2, the previous animated tale by DreamWorks, grossed an awesome $430 million in North American theatres.

A surprise entry into the top 10 was the low budget Woman Thou Art Loosed that earned about $2.5 million in just about 400 theatres, catering mostly to African Americans. On the other hand, Shark Tale, opened in 4,000 theatres and Ladder 49 in some 2,800.

The low-budget story of sin and redemption, Woman was adapted from Bishop T D Jakes' self-help novel and centred on a woman's struggle to come to terms with her legacy of abuse, addiction and poverty.

The absurdist comedy that infuriated many critics who thought it was too much of talk and endeared it to a handful, I Heart Huckabees, opened in four theatres in New York and Los Angeles. It made $300,000. The next few weeks will be critical for the film as it expands from four theatres to 50 next week on its way to reach 1,000 theatres by the last week of October.

It will be interesting to watch the film, which has many fine artists including Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Naomi Watts and Jude Law, trying to woo lovers of offbeat films in smaller cities across North America.

In Hollywood Reporter, Michael Rechtshaffen felt that while 'The cast's a blast,' he also felt 'ultimately, (director) David O Russell's existential farce too effectively embraces nothingness.' But in The New York Times, Manohla Dargis exulted that the film was 'a snort-out-loud-funny master class of controlled chaos.'

Doing solid business in limited release The Motorcycle Diaries, chronicling a road trip in the early 1950s that Che Guevara took, grossed a solid $1 million. Speeding up from three to 64 theatres, it rode to 15^th place this week. Last week it was in 35^th place. Next week, with an expanded screen count, it could break into the top 10 list.

Another tiny film that is making quite a stir -- even though it is seen mostly in the Guyanese immigrant community in Queens, New York -- is the story of Indian and African indentured labour. The non-star film Guiana 1838 has grossed $108,000 in 10 days from just one theatre. Given the strength of the Caribbean community in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles, it is capable of grossing over $1 million.

Doing better than expectations, Ladder 49 grossed a healthy $22.7 million. Trapped in a fire that could kill him, a young Baltimore fireman (Joaquin Phoenix) reviews his life, hoping at the same time his company will rescue him. John Travolta plays Phoenix's fire chief and mentor. It was the second highest grossing film of the week.

Showing fairly good legs, last week's champion, the Julianne Moore- starrer, Forgotten grossed $12 million in third position, losing about 43 percent from the previous week. The ten-day gross for the supernatural thriller reached $38.2 million.

Flying at dangerously low altitude, the Jude Law-Gwyneth Paltrow-Angelina Jolie-starrer Captain and the World of Tomorrow, was in fourth place with a disappointing $4.3 million. It was followed by the low budget comedy Mr 3000, a minor success.

Box office estimates for North America, October 1 to 3