By the Numbers

Weekend box office

Fueled by blockbuster sequels “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers� and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,� as well as “Catch Me If You Can,� the Christmas holiday saw the biggest box office on record. From Thanksgiving to Sunday, the domestic box office generated a record-breaking $939 million in revenue, up from $748.3 million last year, according to the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Among films in limited release, “Chicago� debuted with $2.1 million, for a per-venue average of $26,947; “Pinocchio,� which bowed Christmas Day, grossed $1.2 million, for a theater average of $964; “The Hours� grossed $338,622, averaging a healthy $30,784 per theater; “The Pianist� grossed $111,261, for a per theater average of $42,864; and “Nicholas Nickleby� bowed with $42,864 and an average of $8,573; “Max� opened with $30,157, for an average of $5,026.

-- Robert W. Welkos

*--* MOVIE 3-DAY TOTAL VENUES AVERAGE WKS (STUDIO) GROSS (MILLIONS) PER OUT (MILLIONS) VENUE 1 The Lord of the $48.9 $200.1 3,622 $13,494 2 Rings(New Line) 2 Catch Me If You Can* $30.1 $48.7 3,156 $9,532 1 (Dreamworks) 3 Two Weeks Notice $15.5 $43.0 2,755 $5,633 2 (Warner Bros.) 4 Maid in Manhattan $12.5 $57.0 2,938 $4,263 3 (Sony) 5 Gangs of New York $10.9 $29.9 2,190 $4,999 2 (Miramax) 6 Drumline (Fox) $8.1 $36.6 1,669 $4,858 3 7 The Wild Thornberrys $7.4 $18.4 3,012 $2,445 2 Movie (Paramount) 8 Harry Potter and the $6.5 $240.3 2,505 $2,585 7 Chamber of Secrets (Warner Bros) 9 The Hot Chick (Buena $4.8 $22.2 2,246 $2,143 3 Vista) 10 Die Another Day (MGM) $4.4 $146.7 1,875 $2,328 6

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*Opened Wednesday

Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.