‘Evan’ all righty

Carell No. 1, but not as ‘Almighty’ as Carrey

BOX OFFICE. Steve Carell proved not nearly as all-powerful as Jim Carrey.

“Evan Almighty,” with Carell taking over for Carrey in a follow-up to the comedy smash “Bruce Almighty,” debuted a solid No. 1 with $32.1 million, though that was less than half the $68 million opening of its predecessor, according to studio estimates yesterday.

The Stephen King adaptation “1408,” a Weinstein Co. horror tale with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson in the story of a man trapped in a hotel room with malevolent spirits, debuted in second place with $20.175 million.

Paramount Vantage’s “A Mighty Heart,” starring Angelina Jolie as the wife of kidnapped and slain journalist Daniel Pearl, had a so-so debut, coming in at No. 10 with $4 million.
 
Michael Moore’s health care documentary “Sicko” got a head-start on its nationwide debut Friday with an early opening at one New York City theater, where it took in $70,000 for the weekend.

“Sicko” also had sold-out sneak previews Saturday night at 43 other theaters around the country, where tickets were so in demand they were being scalped for as much as $40 each, said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co., which is releasing “Sicko” along with Lionsgate.

The early screenings were intended to get interest focused on the movie itself, rather than publicity over a U.S. Treasury Department investigation of Moore’s trip to Cuba for the film to get medical care for ailing Sept. 11 rescue workers.

When notified of the investigation in May, the filmmakers worried the government might try to seize the film or impede its release, Weinstein said.
 
The previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, the 20th Century Fox sequel “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” finished just behind “1408” with $20.15 million, raising its 10-day total to $97.6 million.

Like last month’s “Spider-Man,” “Shrek” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequels that opened big then took huge drops in subsequent weekends, revenues for “Fantastic Four” fell a steep 65 percent in the movie’s second weekend.

Universal’s comedy “Knocked Up” maintained strong word-of-mouth among audiences, pulling in $10.6 million, down just 24 percent from a weekend earlier. Ranking No. 5, “Knocked Up” raised its four-week total to $109 million.