Jeepers! Creepers tops USBO!

The four-day weekend notched big numbers as several old hits shot up on the box-office charts in America. Newcomer Jeepers Creepers 2 thumbed its nose at critics who called it a witless horror film and took top position with a decent, if not spectacular, $18.5 million.

Writer and director Victor Salva's Jeepers Creepers 2, which revolves around a group of high-schoolers terrorised by a winged monster with an insatiable craving for human flesh, cost about $30 million, including prints and advertising. Released by United Artists/MGM, the film could top the $38 million gross earned by its predecessor two years ago.

Among the few critics who were kind to the film was Mike LaSalle. Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, he observed: 'For the first 40 minutes or so, while the movie takes place in the daytime, we have a brilliantly filmed version of a typical horror.'

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Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert noted that Jeepers Creepers 2 'supplies us with a first-class creature, a fourth-rate story, and dialogue possibly created by feeding the screenplay into a pasta maker'. And Dave Kehr wrote in The New York Times that 'this is one monster who goes about his work with more industry than personality'.

The colourful adventure of conmen and their stolen millions, The Italian Job, which was in 64 theatres last week, expanded to 1,940 theatres in its 13th week. Released with a new publicity campaign, the film, which has many pulse-quickening chase scenes shot in Venice and Los Angeles, stole nearly $4 million.

The 12th highest grossing film of the week, The Italian Job has reached about $101 million. The Paramount release opened with strong numbers 13 weeks ago and held steady, but with one big budget movie opening after another, it yielded many screens to the competitors. While many of those films, including Paramount's own Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle Of Life, fell short of expectations, the distributor thought of giving The Italian Job a new lease of life.

While last week's top grossing Freddy vs Jason fell to eighth position for a still formidable $8 million, there were several proven hits that beckoned repeat audiences.

Among the Labour Day weekend's big winner was the mother-daughter body exchange comedy Freaky Friday. At No 2, it earned $11.7 million. In less than two weeks, the movie will pass the $100 million mark. It is one of the many medium-range films, having cost about $25 million, that have had impressive runs in the last three months.

Passing the $100 million mark, were S.W.A.T., the cop drama starring Samuel L Jackson and Colin Farrell, and the Oscar-buzzing Seabiscuit. The movies were at the third and sixth position on the chart.

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is generally perceived to be a non-success because it cost a mighty $120 million. But considering that the film earned $150 million abroad, the movie will be profitable in the long run, as video and DVD sales are also factored in. It won't be the kind of money Sony Pictures Classics had hoped for, but it is certainly not a flop.

At the fourth position, the perennial hit Pirates Of The Caribbean reached $274 million with a $10 million weekend gross. The expensive saga is likely to reach $300 million in North America. The film, which opened in just about a dozen countries abroad, has grossed over $140 million in about four weeks.

Kevin Costner's comeback movie Open Range is lassoing quite a few millions. Having grossed $10 million, the Western, which has a superb performance by Robert Duvall, has reached $43 million. The film, made for about $25 million, will be profitable in about three weeks. It was the fifth highest grossing film of the week.

While the also-ran films such as The Medallion, Uptown Girls and My Boss's Daughter occupied the next three slots, American Wedding, heading towards $100 million, having already grossed $98 million, was the 11th film on the chart.

The low budget summer release Uptown Girls hasn't shaped into a big hit, but will make a small profit. It is headed for a $40 million gross.

The box office this week: