Franchise Pictures' violent actioner 3000 Miles To Graceland and Fox's costly animated/live action mix Monkeybone failed to make much of an impression at the box office which was led for the third week by MGM's smash chiller Hannibal. However the status quo is in for a shock next Friday as DreamWorks SKG unleashes its first big picture of the year - Julia Roberts/Brad Pitt-starrer The Mexican, which should comfortably land in the top spot.

Hannibal took $15.8m to bring its total to $128.5m. The sequel to The Silence Of The Lambs is poised to overtake its predecessor in the early part of the week. Meanwhile Graceland from Franchise Pictures, Morgan Creek and Warner Bros was unable to make even the top three, taking $7.1m in 2,545 theatres for an average of just $2,802 a site. That's a poor performance for a film toplining Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell and Courteney Cox Arquette.

But Graceland was a positive hit compared to Monkeybone, the $70m family movie which is the final film from Fox's now closed-down animation unit. A combination of live action and animation, Monkeybone stars Brendan Fraser and took just $2.6m - failing even to make the top ten. Its average was a dismal $1,530 on 1,722 screens.

Box office was about 2% on the same weekend last year, with the year to date up a sensational 32% on last year.

ESTIMATED TOP TEN US FEB 23-25

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

1 (1) Hannibal (MGM) Universal/UIP $15.8m $128.5m

2 (2) Down To Earth (Paramount) UIP $11.6m $34.6m

3 (3) Recess: School's Out (Buena Vista) BVI $7.3m $23m

4 (-) 3000 Miles To Graceland (Warner Bros) Franchise Pictures $7.1m --

5 (5) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Sony Classics) Good Machine International $6.3m $81.6m

6 (4) Sweet November (Warner Bros) Warner/Bel-Air $5.3m $18m

7 (6) Traffic (USA Films) IEG $5.1m $86.1m

8 (8) Chocolat (Miramax) Miramax International $4.7m $40.1m

9 (7) The Wedding Planner (Columbia) Intermedia $4m $52.2m

10 (9) Cast Away (20th Century Fox) DreamWorks $3.4m $221.2m