There was much dancing in the aisles for American Wedding as the third and final instalment of the American Pie series saw lovers Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) head to the altar.

With $34 million taken over the weekend, the movie directed by Jesse Dylan (son of singer Bob Dylan), topped the US charts.

The other newcomer Gigli bombed on the opening day. The crime comedy was notorious for the alleged conflicts between director Martin Brest and its producers leading to reshooting and taking away the final editing from Brest, a seasoned director.

The romance that blossomed between stars Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck after the film was completed kept the tabloids busy for weeks. But how many weeks Gigli, which grossed $3.7 million, will survive is not difficult to guess.

There was also good news for director Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Beckham, which saw its screen count soar to 1,200 theatres and come out with $1.8 million. The film, now in its 21st week, could not reclaim its position on the top 10 chart. It was on the chart for a couple of weeks when playing in about 500 theatres several weeks ago.

This time, it occupied 12th position on the chart. The new marketing design for the film focused a lot on its secondary star Kiera Knightley, as her follow-up film Pirates of the Caribbean, is a huge hit. Knightley's beaming face adorned the new ads for BILB while Parminder Nagra occupied the lower part.

While BILB is one of the best reviewed films of the season, Gigli was called a stinker by practically every major critic in America. It ranked eighth on the chart.

Brest, who has directed hits like Beverly Hills Cop and Scent Of A Woman, wrote the gangster film too. It starred Affleck as a lowly and dimwitted hit man who kidnaps a young man, who in turn is mentally challenged. Lopez, a lesbian gangster, is sent to keep an eye on him so he does not screw up the extortion plan linked to the kidnapping.

Gigli, which New York Post called 'Ugli' in its one-star review, could lose most of its $53 million investment (not to forget $30-$40 million spent on prints and promotion).

The American Wedding gross was about $11 million less than its predecessor but there is no doubt the film received very good reception. There are indications it will not wear out its welcome in the next couple of weeks.

The third instalment of Universal Pictures' R-rated American Pie series that have grossed at least $500 million worldwide since their 1999 debut, it reunites cast members Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott and Alyson Hannigan from the first film.

Universal had a lot to rejoice last week. Its Depression-era, feel good drama, Seabiscuit, which garnered some of the best reviews so far this year (though a few critics have faulted it for being too sentimental and detail-oriented) galloped to a fine $17.5 million. It was the fourth highest grossing film of the week. There is no doubt that Seabiscuit, with its sights firmly on the Oscar nominations, would race beyond the $100 million mark. Seabiscuit is a co-production between Universal and DreamWorks which will release it abroad. The word of mouth has also been excellent for the film.

While the family-pleasing Spy Kids 3 lost about 40 per cent of the business from the opening week, it was still good enough for a $20 million three-day gross and was the second highest grosser of the film. But more gratifying to Disney, which produced the film, was the stronger performance of its fabulous hit, Pirates Of The Caribbean. The film's 16 per cent decline was one of the smallest on the top 10 chart.

 

The third highest grossing film over the weekend, Pirates has merrily looted $209 million in North America. If Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightley continue displaying strong legs as they have in recent weeks, Pirates could swim beyond $300 million. 

 

Continuing the robust winning streak for Disney, Finding Nemo is still enchanting millions. The film which has grossed $320 million in 10 weeks, is expected to be around for at least another month.