Moviegoers Dig 'National Treasure'

Sunday November 21 2:21 PM ET

 

Oscar award winner Nicolas Cage, who has not had a hit movie in years, ended the two-week reign of "The Incredibles" at the North American box office on Sunday with his new family adventure "National Treasure."

 

According to studio estimates, "National Treasure" sold $35.3 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada in the three days beginning Friday, enjoying a narrow lead over kids animated TV favorite "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," which opened with $33.5 million.

 

"The Incredibles," a cartoon revolving around a family of superheroes, slipped to No. 3 with $26.8 million, taking its total to $177.8 million after three weekends.

 

"The Polar Express," a holiday fable featuring a computer-animated Tom Hanks as the train conductor, fell two places to No. 4 with $15.2 million, taking its total to $51 million after 12 days. The film cost a reported $270 million to make and market, prompting much speculation about its chances of turning a profit.

 

"Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," starring Ren?e Zellweger as a hapless "singleton," held steady at No. 5 with $10.1 million after expanding nationally in its second weekend. The film's total stands at $21.6 million.

 

"National Treasure," from prolific Jerry Bruckheimer, revolves around a treasure-seeker hunting for a secret war chest hidden by the Founding Fathers after the Revolutionary War. It was released through Walt Disney Co.'s family-oriented Walt Disney Pictures label, which also released the Pixar Animation Studios Inc.-produced "The Incredibles."

 

The opening marks the best score for a Cage-Bruckheimer collaboration, beating the $25.3 million start for "Gone in Sixty Seconds" in 2000. Since then, Cage, who won an Oscar in 1996 for "Leaving Las Vegas," has worked in such under-performers as "Windtalkers" and "Captain Corelli's Mandolin."

 

"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," based on the hit Nickelodeon series about the antics of a lively sponge and his deep-sea pals, was produced by the cable channel's movie arm and released through Paramount Pictures. Both are owned by Viacom Inc.

 

"The Polar Express" was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc. "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co.-controlled NBC Universal.

Polar Express was such a bad idea.

i hate box office biatchhhhhhh!

Did any of you see National Treasure?? I thought it looked a lil corny...but apparently alot of people thought it looked good. If you saw it...let me know what you thought.

I'll pass on National Treasure and wait for a much better movie, Sahara.

Did any of you see National Treasure?? I thought it looked a lil corny...but apparently alot of people thought it looked good. If you saw it...let me know what you thought.

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It was a good action movie, but some parts just weren't believable.

Did any of you see National Treasure?? I thought it looked a lil corny...but apparently alot of people thought it looked good. If you saw it...let me know what you thought.

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It was a good action movie, but some parts just weren't believable.

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Yeah, Ben(nick cage) could solve the most complex riddle in like 2 seconds. But it was a cool film. I like the whole freemason consipricy theory, and it followed it ok.

Polar Express had officially bombed. You don't spend 180 million on a cartoon movie PERIOD! One of the few computer animated movies that has bombed. Behind "Antz".

Didn't From Hell do the freemason thing not so long ago? Man, the Freemasons are like the new Nazis.

Didn't From Hell do the freemason thing not so long ago? Man, the Freemasons are like the new Nazis.

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Yeah, lol. I even said this movie reminded me of indiana jones w/o nazis...

I saw National Treasure last night and it was entertaining. Some dumb lines in it, but it will hold your interest and not a complete bomb. It's kind of like a crappy Indiana Jones.