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Show FahrenhertSH' Cinema debuts with record $23.9 million weekend . Li' i TT7J7TT - -- u s Mi (j I ! j ;' '? ! 1 Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" took in $23.9 million in its first weekend, a record debut for a documentary and the first time a nonfiction film opened at the top of the box office. The final count Monday was $2.1 million higher than "Fahrenheit 911" distributors had estimated a day earlier. Including its gross from two New York City theaters where the movie opened last Wednesday, two days earlier than in the rest of the country, "Fahrenheit 911" had taken in $24.1 million. X That made "Fahrenheit 911" the documentary ever, aside from concert films and movies made for huge-scree- n IMAX theaters. It took the previous record-holde- r, Moore's Academy Award-winnin- g "Bowling for Columbine," nine months to amass its $21.6 million take. An assault on President Bush's actions regarding the Sept. 11 attacks, "Fahrenheit 911" won the top prize at May's Cannes Film Festival - 'I David Germain The Associated Press MELISSA Tobey Maguire portrays Peter ParkerSpider-Ma- n in a scene from the new action film "Spider-Ma- n MOSELEYColumbia Pictures 2," which opened Wednesday. BosOfilco RedMarvel Spider-Ma- n HERALD Maguire). Strapped for cash, Peter races to keep up with a pizza delivery gig, eventually resorting to a mode of transportation speedier and, ah, rather less street-boun- d than his dinky scooter. "Whoaf an observant by-stander exclaims, as Spider-- . Man streaks into the sky. "He stole that guy's pizza!" Alas, superheroic duty . forces a detour, the pizzas are late, and Peter is left to pay his bills by reluctantly peddling a snapshot of Spider-Man to J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons). Even that doesn't go as planned turns out he's already been advanced more money than he gets for the front-pag- e photo by Jameson's sympathetic secretary. Such are the conflicting demands on Peter's time we come to under24-- 7 stand are that just about everyone in his life, from his suspsicious landlord to his most sympathetic college time-sensiti- can tell that 2" is going be good right As the score the credits are interspersed with frames by legendary Marvel Comics artist Alex Ross. If you've seen the first film, then you'll recognize immediately that Ross' illustrations are recapping its plot. If you haven't seen "Spider-Man- " a promising but problematic film that doesn't quite then you hang together needn't bother. Ross' work is so evocative that he achieves a level of emotion in five minutes that the first film doesn't rise to in 121, all while compressing its rambling story into an elegant visual haiku. But hey, enough said about the front-encredits already. The movie begins with a bang as we drop directly into tbAharied day today exis-- . . . prtfeswJhinks he'sa,tyim.,ylY tence of Peter Parker (Tobey Peter's struggle to balance You hand-illustrat- ' mid-delive- on-ca- ll d , 1. 'Fahrenheit 911 sequel is the ultimate comic book blockbuster Cody Clark DAILY Compiled by Exhibitor Relations Co. and Nielsen EDI Inc. for last . his separate lives, and the effect of his supposed derelictions of kinship to Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and friendship to Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), carries through the entire movie. It's a strong theme and a readily involving one. So involving, actually, that the movie would captivate whether or not it ever got around to introducing a It does, of course, and the insertion of nuclear scientist Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), tragically transformed into Doctor Octopus, raises the movie's already boggling rate of return on your entertainment dollar through the roof . Special effects and sense of humor are both applied seamlessly and in artfully measured proportion to the human drama of the story. And the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane is everything a Spider-Man fan could hope for. The acting crackles, the Bill Pope and director Sam Lions Gate-IF- $23,920,637, 868 locations, $27,558 average, $24,078,959, one week. ZiOVlOlY 2. "White Chides,' Sony, $19,676,748, 2,726 locations, $7,21 8 average, $27,180,139, one week. 2 Spider-Ma- n Director Sam Raimi Cast Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina Running time: 2 hrs. Rating: PG-1- 3 for stylized action violence Location: Opened Wednesday in theaters everywhere Raimi deliver the most breathtaking action sequence of the year when Spidey and Doc Ock face off atop a speeding elevated train. This scene is good to begin with, gets better when the evil doctor temporarily hits the sidelines, and concludes with a movingly human crescendo so perfect that they should stop making "Spider-Man" movies shoot, all comic book movies right now. It's not getting any better than this. 3. 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,' Fox, $18,787,419, 3,020 locations, $6,221 average, $67,458,145, two weeks. The Notebook, New Line, $13,464,745, 2,303 locations, $5,847 average, $1 3,464,745, one week. 4. 5. 'The Terminal,' DreamWorks, $13,135,148, 2,914 locations, $4,508 average, $41,040,124, two weeks. 6. 'Hany Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.' Warner Bros., $11,247,412, 3,404 locations, $3,304 average, $211,537,548, four weeks. 7. 'Shrek 2, DreamWorks, $10,216,452, 2,937 locations, $3,479 average, $396,782,535, six weeks. 8. 'Garfield: The Movie,' Fox, $7,526,987, 2,880 locations, $2,614 average, $56,297,265, three weeks. 9. 'Two Brothers,' Universal, . $6,144,160, 2,175 locations, $2,825 average, $6,144,160, one week. 10. "The Stepford Wives,' Paramount $5,056,343, 2,437 locations, $2,075 average, $48,861,783, three weeks. |