A Case of ‘Entrapment’

“Entrapment,” starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones, captured the No. 1 spot at the box office over the weekend, taking in $20.1 million. That marks the third-best April opening ever for a movie, behind “Life” ($20.4 million) and “Lost in Space” ($20.15 million). Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitors Relations Co., said two factors led to the film’s success: a decision by 20th Century Fox to release the movie before the onslaught of summer films and to market the film like a James Bond movie. The teen film “Idle Hands” grossed a lackluster $1.8 million.

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Entrapment” $20.1 2,815 1 (Fox) $20.1 $7,157 2. “The Matrix” $8.7 2,903 5 (Warner Bros.) $129.7 $3,002 3. “Life” $6.5 2,613 3 (Universal) $46.3 $2,480 4. “Never Been Kissed” $4.1 2,481 4 (Fox) $36.5 $1,641 5. “Analyze This” $2.2 2,128 9 (Warner Bros.) $98.5 $1,022 6. “10 Things I Hate About You” $1.81 2,020 5 (Disney/Touchstone) $31.1 $897 7. “Idle Hands” $1.8 1,611 1 (Sony/Columbia) $1.8 $1,122 8. “Lost & Found” $1.3 2,469 2 (Warner Bros.) $5.0 $508 9. “Pushing Tin” $1.3 1,284 2 (Fox) $5.8 $974 10. “Go” $1.2 1,419 4 (Sony/Columbia) $14.4 $812 * “Election” $245,582 14 2 (Paramount) $419,087 $17,542 ** “The Winslow Boy” $80,553 6 1 (Sony Classics) $80,553 $13,425

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