All for won!

Som Chivukula

A lacklustre box office saw newcomer The Musketeer take the top spot with only $10.7 million last weekend.

The Musketeer, a spin on the Alexander Dumas classic, outperformed other newcomers, Rock Star (Jennifer Aniston, Mark Wahlberg) and Two Can Play That Game (an African American comedy).

Rock Star earned $6.2 million tied for third place with last weekend's number one Jeepers Creepers, whereas Two Can Play That Game pulled in $8.3 million to finish second.

"Rock Star's BO collection was a surprise," states boxofficeguru.com editor Gitesh Pandya. "It goes to show that the heavy metal genre is not as popular as hip-hop and rap."

Though Rock Star had the star appeal with Wahlberg and Aniston in the leads, it underperformed heavily.

"The R-rating kept kids away. But people do like Wahlberg and Aniston, just not in this film," Pandya says.

The Musketeer also benefited from the Hong Kong-style action in telling the tale of the fabled swordsmen. "The film looked run of the mill but Universal was smart to market it as a martial arts film," he adds.

Meanwhile, the strongest story of the late summer and early fall remains Nicole Kidman's The Others.

The thriller pulled in $6.1 million, bringing its total to an impressive $67.6 million after four weeks. The Others, which bears similarities to The Sixth Sense, cost just $13 million.

"It had the smallest decline in the Top Ten," Pandya says. "The word of mouth is very good and it could go up to $100 million."

Jeepers Creepers, the teen horror flick, has grossed $24.3 million in 10 days. It is headed for a final gross in the $40 million neighbourhood.

The top ten grossed $62.6 million, up 39 per cent from the same weekend a year ago when Keanu Reeves' The Watcher placed first.

Next week sees only weak competition battle the current champ: Reeves' Hardball and the thriller The Glass House.