There was considerable jostling for the top spot over the weekend and at the final count there was just NZ$560 separating the two top films, both of which were officially on release for the first time.

Under The Tuscan Sun was victorious with a gross of NZ$248,940 from 44 screens for BVI. Nibbling at its heels was Big Fish, which Columbia TriStar released on two less screens after a week of previews.

Very close behind in third position was Roadshow's The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King. This is only the second time in nine weeks that it has been pushed off the top spot - the first time it was by The Last Samurai, but only for a week. Next weekend will be closely watched indeed.

The only other two newcomers in the chart were Hoyts/Icon's Wrong Turn, which landed the tenth spot with a gross of NZ$53,214 from 32 screens, and Roadshow's 21 Grams, which claimed the twelfth spot with NZ$48,166 from a very modest five screens. It's screen average was second only to Lost In Translation, which held on to the sixth position in its second weekend on release.