Love sweeps US box-office!

It is no a big deal for romantic movies to do well on Valentine's Day weekend but the estimated $45.3 million that Hitch took in three days must have surprised even the industry. It will undoubtedly add a few more substantial millions on Monday, February 14, as the world celebrates V-Day. Monday is usually the weakest day for the box-office across North America, but this week is different.

Forecasters expected the film, in which Will Smith plays his first romantic role as a 'date doctor,' to gross about $35 million. Critics were not impressed with the film, and in New York Post, Lou Lumenick wrote, 'To enjoy this film, it helps to check your brain at the box-office.'

But, as in the case of many comedies including the very successful Meet The Fockers, the joke was on the critics.

Smith has executed several roles with comedic touches in films like Men In Black, but Hitch is his first straight romantic comedy. He has also co-produced the $70 million film, his fifth including I, Robot to open at $45 million or more. Hitch is an exception among his top openers in the sense it has no special effects or a popular co-star.

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Eva Mendes, playing a journalist hungry for a scoop, has never been in a film as big as Hitch. Her other films include 2 Fast 2 Furious and the ill-fated Out Of Time, opposite Denzel Washington.

The solid opening of Hitch gave Sony a great Valentine weekend, as the studio's two other films -- Boogeyman and Are We There Yet? -- followed the new film immediately on the top 10 list.

The arrival of Hitch sent The Wedding Date on an expected tumble. It lost 50 percent of its box-office and ended up at the sixth position. It was the second-highest grossing film last week. Despite its big fall, the movie, which has grossed $19 million in 10 days and was made for about $15 million, is going to be profitable in two weeks.

Yet another Valentine's Day film, Bride & Prejudice, grossed an impressive $388,000 on just 32 screens in 15 cities. It was the 19th highest-grossing film of the week. The Miramax film will add more screens in the coming weeks.

That audiences weren't just looking for romance was clear by the continuing success of scary films. Boogeyman at second spot lost 43 percent of its box-office clout, ending up with $33 million in 10 days. Most horror and sci-fi films tumble with a far bigger number in the second week. At seventh spot, Hide And Seek made impressive gains, with its gross reaching $43 million. Both films, particularly the latter, had been panned by critics across the country.

At third spot, the Ice Cube film Are We There Yet? continued to amuse millions and reached $61 million, exemplifying yet another medium-budget ($30 million) film doing excellent business.

The Clint Eastwood triumph Million Dollar Baby continues to draw more discriminating audiences and at fourth spot, it came down from the previous week by just 13 percent and saw its cumulative incomes reach $45 million. Given the fact that the film intensely probes uncomfortable death-related issues, its significant success with moviegoers outside big urban areas ought to be appreciated.

Aimed at the kids, Pooh's Heffalump Movie stood at fifth spot with a mediocre $6 million gross. But it ought to be remembered the film was intended as a straight-to-DVD release. Someone at Disney then had an afterthought to give the film a theatrical opening for a couple of weeks. The low-budget film was released with hardly any fanfare and may end its run with $20 million. The film will be profitable for Disney, especially when DVD and sales to cable television and regular networks are factored in.

The steady box-office triumph of Sideways continues. It was the only one movie among the top 10 that made gains over the weekend, with its gross going up by two percent. The staying power of the film is even more impressive considering that its distributor cut down the number of theatres by 167, to 1,619 this weekend. The $16 million film has already taken $53 million, broke even three weeks ago, and is on its way to be one of the most profitable films of last year.

Following Sideways, another Oscar hopeful The Aviator was flying at ninth spot with its total reaching $82 million. Had the film not cost $110 million, it would have been declared a success by now. As things stand, the film needs a couple of major Oscars and a strong overseas gross with robust worldwide DVD and video sales to become profitable.

For the record, The Aviator is the highest-grossing film among the best picture nominees as of now, with Ray, which is still showing in a number of theatres despite being out on DVD, grossing $74 million. The first two-day revenue from DVD, video sales and rentals for Ray came to an astounding $110 million in North America. The film, for which no studio showed any interest since it was announced 15 years ago, was made for $30 million and Universal decided to release it only after seeing the completed version. If Jamie Foxx gets the Best Actor Oscar, DVD sales will continue soaring.

Box office estimates for North America, February 11-13