K-Pax beams up to top spot at US BO

Kevin Spacey, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of a dysfunctional family man in American Beauty, may finally be coming into his own as a box-office draw.

His latest effort K-Pax was placed number one at the box-office over the weekend with $ 17.5 million.

Spacey's last film Pay It Forward, which co-starred Oscar-winner Helen Hunt, failed to draw audiences as it brought in less than $10 million in its opening weekend October 2000.

K-Pax tells the story of a man (Spacey) who claims to be from another planet and his interactions with a psychologist, played by Jeff Bridges. The $ 46 million drama received lukewarm reception from critics, who felt both stars deserved better material to work with.

In second place was the horror flick 13 Ghosts, starring American Pie alum Shannon Elizabeth. With Halloween fever gripping much of the country, the critically panned 13 Ghosts did good business with $ 15.7 million.

"The BO is very healthy right now," observed Boxofficeguru.com editor Gitesh Pandya. "The top 12 films are up three percent from last year but overall attendance is dead-even when you factor increase in ticket prices."

"People are slowly going back to the theatres," he continued.

Not doing so well are N'Sync pop stars Joey Fatone and Lance Bass, who star in the romantic film On The Line, and rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, who headlined a film for the first time with the horror-thriller Bones.

On The Line, a $ 10 million film, made just $ 2.3 million for 11th place. Its disastrous performance is reminiscent of the recent Mariah Carey vehicle Glitter. Meanwhile Bones, which was released last Wednesday, made $ 3 million for a five-day total of $ 3.8 million.

The third place finish was a battle that seems to be won by From Hell with $ 6.1 million. Finishing just behind was Drew Barrymore's Riding In Cars With Boys with $ 6 million. In 10 days, the Johnny Depp starring drama has pulled in $ 21 million while Boys stands at $ 19 million.

The fifth and sixth spots were also hotly contested: Denzel Washington's Training Day made $ 5.1 million, just managing to stay ahead of the Bruce Willis comedy Bandits, which grossed $ 5 million. With $ 65 million in the bank after four weeks, Training Day is headed towards a final gross in the $ 80 million neighborhood, making it back-to-back hits for Washington after last year's Remember The Titans that finished with over $ 110 million in North America.

Bandits, which cost a reported $ 90 million, is at $ 32.1 million after three weeks.

Next week, the box-office is sure to see a big number at the top with the much-hyped computer animated film Monsters, Inc. Also debuting will be the John Travolta drama Domestic Disturbance and the Jet Li action flick The One.