Spider-Man defeats King Arthur!

In a season that gave major studios, even a minor one (Lions Gate distributed Fahrenheit 9/11) reason to rejoice, there was nothing to cheer Walt Disney. The studio came up with several bruises and has just two more hopefuls left this summer: M Night Shyamalan's The Village, and The Princess Diaries series.

The latest disappointment for the studio is the $15-million weekend gross for King Arthur, a $100 million-plus war saga. Though the film opened on July 7 to encouraging numbers, its weekend gross left the studio disappointed.

King Arthur is not a washout like other recent Disney films like Around The World In 80 Days, The Alamo and Hidalgo. And it could still earn a sizeable amount abroad. But it is sending red signals.

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Meanwhile, the politically hot Fahrenheit 9/11, the film Disney would not distribute because of its ideological content, continues to be a big moneymaker. It has grossed $80 million in North America in three weeks. The film that debuted in about 800 theatres in the wake of a huge international controversy is now seen in over 2,000 theatres in North America.

Though King Arthur's bloodless performance dampened the box office, other films like Sony's Spider-Man 2 and DreamWorks' Anchorman did excellent business.

Already a certified hit, Spider-Man 2 added $46 million to its North American booty, taking the three-week toll to a magnificent $257 million. The movie, which cost about $200 million, should recover its negative cost in a week. It has grossed an impressive $120 million in about two dozen countries abroad. It will open in more lucrative markets like England and India in the coming weeks. In the domestic circuit, it ruled the charts for two consecutive weeks.

The Will Ferrell laugh riot Anchorman, which opened at second spot, grabbed a strong $28 million and stands a good chance of crossing $100 million. Ferrell plays a bragging male chauvinistic anchorman and is emerging as one of Hollywood's bankable stars. Christina Applegate, as the newswoman who challenges Ferrell's hard-held views and teaches him a few lessons, has an endearing presence.

The reviews for the Ferrell-Applegate film were far better than what most recent comedies received.

In The New York Times, A O Scott admitted that the film's "cheerful dumbness is hard to resist." And in USA Today, Claudia Puigg gave high marks to Ferrell: "That he can make his anchorman chauvinistic, deluded and ridiculous but still manage to give him some humanity is testimony to Ferrell's comic talents."

Other reviewers grudgingly admitted that they found it difficult to resist the comedy though they felt it was over-contrived. "Sloppy, crude, pursuing the most far-flung tangents in hopes of a laugh, Anchorman still gave me more stupid giggles than I'd care to admit if I weren't paid to," wrote Ty Burr in Boston Globe.

Anchorman was followed by King Arthur at third spot and Fahrenheit 9/11 at fourth.

Among the more durable summer films, the medium-range hit The Notebook is drawing plenty of women. The beautifully lensed melodrama, which was the fifth highest grossing film of the weekend, is headed for a bountiful $60 million gross in North America.

The low budget comedy, White Chicks, has grossed an impressive $57 million in three weeks.

Steven Spielberg's bittersweet comedy The Terminal seems wobbly after showing strong legs for two weeks. Though most reviewers for major publications gave the films a green signal, it has emerged an underachiever. The film may end its North American gross with a decent, but far from spectacular, $80 million gross. Unless the film does stronger business abroad, it could emerge a big disappointment to the studio.

Though it dropped out of the Top 10 charts, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban earned an impressive $3.8 million with its cumulative total reaching $232 million. By now, it is clear that the third Harry Potter film, though a formidable hit, will not be able to overtake its predecessor that earned about $262 million. The first film in the series earned a far more robust $317 million gross.

The box office this week:

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