Sony's Spider-Man 2 was too strong for the opposition at the weekend,beating off the challenges of Anchorman and King Arthur to staytop on an estimated $46m for $257.3m after its second weekend.

The arachnid passed $200mafter a record eight days last week and is roughly $20m ahead of its 2002predecessor at the same stage.

That picture went on togross $403.7m at the US box office and such is the momentum of Spider-Man 2 that a higher final total may well be within itssticky grasp.

The Dreamworks comedy Anchorman, which stars Will Ferrell as fictional 70s San DiegoTV anchorman Ron Burgundy and Christina Applegate as an ambitious female rival,opened second on $28m, averaging $9,058 from 3,091 screens.

Adam McKay's picture, whichdrew good reviews, also stars Paul Rudd and Steven Carell. Ferrell co-wrote thescreenplay with McKay.

Disney's string ofdisappointments continued as the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced action adventure KingArthur opened on the back ofuninspired reviews in third place on a solid $15.2m. The picture has grossed$23.6m since opening last Wednesday.

Clive Owen, StellanSkarsgard and Keira Knightley star in Antoine Fuqua's stab at ancient Englishhistory which averaged $4,910 from 3,086 screens.

Fahrenheit 9/11 fell two places to fourth on $11m for an astounding$80.1m after its third weekend, while New Line's The Notebook continued to hold well with $6.5m for a total $43.1mafter four weekends.

Twentieth Century Fox'scomedy Dodgeball should pass$100m this week after adding $5.4m for $97.6m after its fourth weekend inseventh place, while Dreamworks' Shrek 2 fell one to for a total of $418.6m after eight weekends.

MGM's high school comedy Sleepover drew poor reviews and disappointed at the box officeentering at 10th place on $4.2m, averaging $1,903 from 2,207 screens. AlexaVega and Mika Boorem star.

Next weekend's wide releasesinclude Fox's sci-fi thriller I, Robot starring Will Smith; and Warner Bros' A Cinderella Story, which stars Hilary Duff and Jennifer Coolidge.

Estimated Top Ten US Jul9-11-5 2004

Film(Distributor)/International distribution/Estimated weekend gross/Estimatedtotal to date

1 (1) Spider-Man 2 (Sony) CTFDI $46m $257.3m

2 (-) Anchorman (Dreamworks) UIP $28m -

3 (-) King Arthur (Buena Vista) BVI $15.2m $23.6m -

4 (2) Fahrenheit 9/11 (Lions Gate/IFC Films/Fellowship Adventure Group)Wild Bunch $11m $80.1m

5 (6) The Notebook (New Line) NLI $6.5m $43.1m

6 (3)White Chicks (Sony/Revolution)CTFDI $6.5m $57.2m

7 (4) Dodgeball: A TrueUnderdog Story (Fox) Fox Intl $5.4m $97.6m

8 (6) The Terminal (Dreamworks) UIP $5m $65.3m

9 (8)Shrek 2 (Dreamworks) UIP $4.5m$418.6m

10 (-) Sleepover (MGM) Fox Intl $4.2m -