Weekend box office

“Saw II” beat studio projections by more than $1 million, bringing the Lions Gate chiller’s weekend total to $31.7 million. A distant second domestically, Sony’s “The Legend of Zorro” opened simultaneously in 50 international markets for a worldwide weekend total of about $44.8 million. Two other new films, Universal’s “Prime” and Paramount’s “The Weatherman,” posted more modest returns, while last week’s No. 1 movie, Universal’s video game-based “Doom,” dropped a whopping 73% and six notches to seventh place. “Paradise Now” led the specialized parade in per-theater averages among movies playing in Los Angeles and New York with $12,078 per location in a pair of venues in each of those cities. “Shopgirl” added 34 theaters for a total of 42, averaging $11,037 in each, according to Boxoffice.mojo.com. “Good Night and Good Luck” ($2 million) and “Capote” ($1.1 million) remained sturdy in their fourth and fifth weeks, respectively, for totals of $7.2 million and $3.5 million.

Source: Nielsen EDI Inc.

*--* Movie 3-Day Total Venues Avg. Weeks (Studio) Gross (Millions) Per (Millions) Venue

1 Saw II $31.7 $31.7 2,949 $10,758 1 (Lions Gate)

2 The Legend of Zorro $16.3 $16.3 3,520 $4,639 1 (Sony)

3 Prime $6.2 $6.2 1,827 $3,405 1 (Univers al)

4 Dreamer $6.1 $17.4 2,491 $2,462 2 (DreamWo rks)

5 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the $4.3 $49.7 2,935 $1,466 4 Were-Rabbit (DreamWo rks)

6 The Weatherman $4.25 $4.25 1,510 $2,814 1 (Paramou nt)

7 Doom $4.23 $23.0 3,042 $1,390 2 (Univers al)

8 North Country $3.6 $12.1 2,555 $1,393 2 (Warner Bros.)

9 The Fog $3.1 $25.3 2,587 $1,202 3 (Sony/Re volution )

10 Flightplan $2.7 $81.2 1,766 $1,545 6 (Buena Vista)

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Los Angeles Times