Still Chicken

Chicken Little continues to do well for Disney, winning its second weekend despite the onslaught of a new kid flick and 50 Cent.

Proving once again that he’s the little chicken who could, the fledgling film star grabbed $32 million at the US box office to take the top spot.

Zathura, directed by Jon Favreau, flew into second place with $14 million, which is a decent if not interstellar opening. But both of the family films will face their biggest test next weekend, when a certain teenage wizard arrives for his fourth outing.

Third was Derailed, the Jennifer Aniston/Clive Owen thriller, with a decent $12.8 million. But the worst news of the weekend was reserved for Fiddy Cent and director Jim Sheridan, who watched Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ stumble despite opening earlier than most of its fellow films. Including its Wednesday release, the movie made $18.2 million, but on the basis of the weekend alone, it scooped up just $12.5 million, shoving it into fourth. “It came in a little on the low side," Paramount’s President of Distribution Wayne Lewellen told Variety. “Had it not opened on Wednesday, I think the three-day figure would have been higher and research would have been on target.”

Jarhead didn’t cling on as well as the chicken, falling to $12.3 million, suffering from seriously mixed reviews and a less than enthusiastic reaction from Stateside audiences to land in fifth place.

Lower down the charts, Saw II continued to cut into the returns, slicing $9.4 million in sixth, The Legend Of Zorro notched up $6.6 million for seventh, Prime was psyched with $3.9 million for eighth and ninth was Dakota fanning’s horse racer Dreamer, with $3.8 million.

The final new entry into the charts was Keira Knightley in Price And Prejudice, which managed $2.8 million in a limited release, putting it in tenth place.