Troy No 1 at USBO

Released in more than 3,500 movie theatres across North America, Troy took an impressive but unspectacular box-office booty.

Despite its duration of 2 hours, 42 minutes, Warner Bros' $180 million war epic made $45 million in three days. 

There was speculation that the film starring Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana and Peter O'Toole could open with a $50 million bang. 

The Troy effect resulted in Van Helsing's collections dropping by about 60 percent.

Unless the film, which cost about $150 million, does phenomenal business abroad and in video-DVD sales, its chances of making a profit look dim.

Critics were sharply divided over Troy, loosely based on Homer's Iliad with the futility of war as its theme. Brad Pitt plays Achilles, vain and brave at the same time, whose quest for immortality in the battlefield leads to many tragic consequences.

A mercenary, he joins the Spartans in the hope that he will get another opportunity to prove his tenacity, resourcefulness and bravery. In the war between the Spartans, who want to avenge the abduction of their queen Helen by a callow Trojan prince called Paris (Orlando Bloom) and the Trojans, there are no real winners.

'Troy is based on the epic poem The Iliad by Homer, according to the credits,' wrote Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, 'Homer's estate should sue.'

But in the rival Chicago Tribune, Michael Wilmington had a sharply different take: 'It's stunningly handsome film, with an equally stunning cast and engrossing story.'

The New York Post's Jonathan Foreman faulted the performances severely and reserved his worst for Bloom: 'If Troy doesn't put an end to the movie career of Orlando Bloom, there is no justice in movie land.'

On the West Coast, the film received generally upbeat reviews. In the San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle wrote: 'Troy is all Hollywood and no Homer, but within its limits, it's a vigorous, entertaining movie.'

Showing far stronger legs than Van Helsing, the two low-budget movies aimed at teens continued to do robust business.

At the third position on the chart, Mean Girls grossed about $10 million and its total reached $55 million in three weeks.  At the sixth position, 13 Going on 30 continued its profitable run with a $4.3 million weekend gross and $48 million total. But New York Minute was struggling at the seventh position. Having opened to disappointing numbers, the film looks like destined to gross about $15 million.

The low budget comedy aimed mostly at African Americans, Breakin All Rules, had a mediocre opening with $5.3 million at the fourth place. Yet the movie, which cost about $15 million, could eventually bring in a profit if it does better business in video and DVD versions.

Denzel Washington's kidnap drama Man on Fire is yet another film that has not blinked despite the arrival of behemoths such as Troy and Van Helsing. At the fifth position, it did a decent killing, pocketing $5.2 million. With an accumulated gross of $64 million, it could reach $80 million.

The box office this week:

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