US Box Office gives in to a Vice

The reign of those hearty Pirates is finally over. Well, sort of. After three weeks at the top of the US box office charts, Jack Sparrow and the Caribbean cast have been ousted from their number one spot by a pair of slick, hard living vice cops.

Michael Mann’s new Miami Vice grabbed hold of the top spot this weekend with $25.2 million. It’s a solid, if slightly soft opening for the stylish thriller. But even in second place, the Pirates won’t exactly be worried – they plundered $20.4 million this weekend alone and are currently sitting atop a Dead Man’s Chest laden with $358 million. And that’s just their US total so far.

The third slot went to a surprising new entry, cannily counter-programmed against the thriller and the swashbuckler. Aimed at teens (particularly girls), John Tucker Must Die is a low-budget comedy of high school revenge, and managed $14 million.

Fourth place was Monster House, which is sadly not showing real staying power. It’s already slipped two places and made just $11.5 million this weekend. But that sort of figure is a pipe dream for this week’s third new arrival – fellow ‘toon The Ant Bully, from Warner Bros. The insect-based family comedy arrived looking like it had been sprayed with Red Can, and took just $8 million for fifth.

Sixth place saw You, Me And Dupree, which is managing to hold on in the mid-range. It made a little more than its seventh-place neighbour, Lady In The Water, which sunk down the charts in its second week - it’s made $32 million so far. Eighth finds none-sillier comedy Little Man, with the Wayan brothers scraping together $50 million so far.

Doing much better is The Devil Wears Prada, which has been sitting pretty in the charts for five weeks now and is already at $106 million: talk about yer sleeper hits. Finally, at 10th Kevin Smith’s Clerks II nabs $4 million for a running tally of $18.4 million so far.