The Rock shattered box-office records with the weekend's No. 1 hit, "The Scorpion King," a spin-off of "the Mummy" series. The WWF champ's movie took in an estimated $36.2 million, establishing a record for best opening weekend in April. The previous high mark was set by the $27.8 million debut of "The Matrix" in 1999. Last weekend's most popular movie, "Changing Lanes," with Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson, fell to second place, while this weekend's other big Hollywood release, the Sandra Bullock-Ben Chaplin crime thriller "Murder by Numbers," came in at No. 3, with mediocre ticket sales. Despite the strength of "The Scorpion King," it fell below the opening takes for its predecessors: "The Mummy" made $43.4 million its first weekend when it premiered, and "The Mummy Returns" (which introduced The Rock in his "Scorpion King" role) debuted with $68.1 million. The weekend's Top 10 movies, according to studio estimates, are as follows:
1. "The Scorpion King," $36.2 million
2. "Changing Lanes," $11.1 million
3. "Murder by Numbers," $9.5 million
4. "The Rookie," $6.3 million
5. "Panic Room," $6.2 million
6. "Ice Age," $5.7 million
7. "The Sweetest Thing," $5.2 million
8. "High Crimes," $3.8 million
9. "Clockstoppers," $2.9 million
10. "National Lampoon's Van Wilder," $2.3 million
Your Reaction
