Universal's American Pie 2 became the first film since June to stay at number one at the North American box office for a second weekend, taking an estimated $21.4m over the three day Friday to Sunday period for a ten-day total of $87.6m.

The R-rated teen sequel, however, fell 53% from its opening and looks only moderately successful compared to New Line's Rush Hour 2 which took an estimated $19.2m in its third weekend to bring its 17-day total to $164.8m. Rush Hour 2 could well become the second biggest movie of the summer after Shrek.

Paramount Pictures had the best opening of the weekend with Rat Race, the ensemble road comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr, Seth Green, John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson and others, which grossed $11.8m. The film was 65% financed by Jay Firestone's Fireworks Pictures, which sold international rights.

Other new releases fared less well. Universal's run of mega-hits came to an end with Captain Corelli's Mandolin which took $7.1m for sixth position. Starring Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz, the wartime romance suffered mediocre reviews; the film, directed by John Madden and produced by UK powerhouse Working Title Films, opened in the UK in May and grossed over $13m through Miramax Films/BVI.

Meanwhile Warner Bros-based independent Morgan Creek suffered another flop with its western American Outlaws which came in at number eight with $4.8m despite the presence of hearththrob Colin Farrell in the lead role of Jesse James. Morgan Creek, which released a package of Franchise Pictures films through its distribution deal with Warner Bros including Get Carter, Battlefield Earth and 3000 Miles To Graceland, has itself originated a string of under-performers in the last two years such as The In-Crowd, Chill Factor and The King And I.

Box office was down 31% from last weekend but up about 19% from the same weekend last year; with only two weekends to go in summer 2001, new releases next weekend will come from Miramax (Jay And Silent Bob Strikes Back), Warner Bros (Summer Catch), Screen Gems (Ghosts Of Mars), Buena Vista (Bubble Boy) and DreamWorks (The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion).

ESTIMATED TOP TEN US AUG 17-19
Film (Distributor)/International distribution/Estimated weekend gross/Estimated total to date
1 (1) American Pie 2 (Universal) UIP $21.4m $87.6m
2 (2) Rush Hour 2 (New Line) New Line International $19.2m $164.8m
3 (-) Rat Race (Paramount) Fireworks Pictures $11.8m --
4 (4) The Others (Miramax) StudioCanal $10.8m $32m
5 (3) The Princess Diaries (Buena Vista) BVI $9.5m $70.1m
6 (-) Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Universal) StudioCanal/UIP/BVI $7.1m --
7 (5) Planet Of The Apes (20th Century Fox) Fox International $6.9m $161m
8 (-) American Outlaws (Warner Bros/Morgan Creek) Morgan Creek International/Warner Bros $4.8m --
9 (6) Jurassic Park III (Universal) UIP $4.3m $168.2m
10 (9) Legally Blonde (MGM) 20th Century Fox $2.6m $83.3m