By Carl DiOrio

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Sony's Jodie Foster thriller "Panic Room" locked out 20th Century Fox's newly opened "High Crimes" from the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with a solid sophomore-session gross of $18.5 million.

"Panic Room," about a mother and daughter hiding from burglars in a concrete bunker of their home, dropped just 38 percent from the previous weekend to best a solid $15 million opening for "Crimes," a courtroom drama starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.

But Disney's "Big Trouble," a 9/11-troubled ensemble comedy, earned its name with a disappointing $3.7 million, opening in eighth place.

Fox's animated feature "Ice Age" grossed an estimated $14.3 million to boost its cumulative tally to $141.4 million through four weekends, while Disney found solace in the modest 26 percent second-week drop by its family drama "The Rookie," which grossed an estimated $11.7 million in fourth place.

Artisan's modestly budgeted college comedy "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" debuted with an estimated $7.5 million in fifth place. And Paramount's sci-fi adventure "Clockstoppers" enjoyed a modest 28 percent drop from its opening sesssion to $7.3 million in sixth place.

Warner Bros.' dark comedy "Death to Smoochy" sunk from the top 10 with a 61 percent plummet to $1.7 million in its second weekend. The 10-day tally for "Smoochy," starring Ed Norton and Robin Williams, reached just $7.3 million.

Paramount began its platformed rollout of hijinks comedy "Lucky Break" with an estimated $7,000 from six Los Angeles and New York playdates -- an inauspicious $1,067 per engagement. "Breaks" breaks in eight additional cities in two weeks.

Sony Classics' romantic comedy "Crush," another limited opener, grossed an estimated $47,970 from 10 L.A. and Gotham theaters for a more acceptable per-venue average of $4,797. Sporting a $58,195 tally due to a Wednesday opening in Manhattan, the film starring Andie McDowell is slated to add bicoastal playdates Friday and enter other markets April 19.

MGM/UA's re-release of the Martin Scorsese concert film "The Last Waltz" bowed with an estimated $16,000 from a single San Francisco playdate.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, IFC Films' Spanish-language "Y Tu Mama Tambien" grossed an estimated $1.4 million after expanding 130 theaters for a total 181. The spicy road-trip comedy, whose $6,315 per-venue average moved its cumulative total to $2.9 million, is set to add another 40 theaters each of the next two weekends.

'KISSING' WORKS

Fox Searchlight's "Kissing Jessica Stein" added 188 engagements for a total 319 in grossing an estimated $1 million. Per-playdate performance of $3,150 brought that comedy's tally to $3.3 million.

Industrywide, the weekend's $110 million in total grosses marked a 15 percent climb from the same time frame a year ago, when the Judd-Freeman thriller "Along Came a Spider" topped openers with $16.7 million.

Year-to-date, 2002 is now 16 percent ahead of the same period of last year at $2.21 billion in total grosses, according to data from box office tracker ACNielsen EDI.

A surplus of releases -- marked by a surfeit of successful titles -- has fueled box office gains so far this year, EDI executive vice president Dan Marks said.

"It just keeps on going," Marks said.

The repeat chart-topping feat by broadly appealing "Panic Room" was only the third time this year that a film has finished No. 1 in box office rankings over two successive weekends. New Line's "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and Sony/Revolution's "Black Hawk Down" previously managed back-to-back top rankings.

LOOKING AT $100 MILLION

"We certainly think we have a good shot at $100 million," Sony marketing and distributino chief Jeff Blake said of domestic prospects for "Panic."

But "Big Trouble" will have big trouble doing even a quarter as much business after its woeful launch.

The film -- directed by Barry Sonnenfeld ("Men in Black") and starring Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci and Tom Sizemore -- was delayed from a scheduled Sept. 21 release due to content sensitivities in the wake of the Sept. 11 East Coast terrorist tragedies.

Its troubles follow similar woes with the 9/11-delayed opening of Warner Bros.' "Collateral Damage." Although the Arnold Schwarzenegger thriller bowed atop weekend box office rankings in February, the pricey film has grossed a lackluster $40 million to date domestically.

Fox distribution chief Bruce Snyder called the "High Crimes" opening a "good start." But he acknowledged the debut was hampered by the established marketplace strength of "Panic Room," which appeals to a similarly adult crowd. "Crimes" skewed 58 percent female, with 65 percent of patrons 30 years of age or older.

Artisan executives expressed satisfaction with the "Van Wilder" bow, which skewed 61 percent male, with patrons primarily aged 18 to 30.

"It's a very solid opening," distribution boss Steve Rothenberg said. "We very happy with it."

Three films open wide this Friday -- Paramount suspenser "Changing Lanes," Sony comedy "The Sweetest Thing" and Lions Gate drama "Frailty."

Reuters/Variety

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the April 5-7 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross Gross

1. Panic Room .......... $18,244,157

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $58,525,734

2. High Crimes .......... $14,005,550

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $14,005,550

3. Ice Age .......... $13,565,070

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $140,658,250

4. The Rookie .......... $11,703,657

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $34,946,630

5. Blade II .......... $7,476,255

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $67,448,831

6. National Lampoon's Van Wilder .......... $7,302,913

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $7,302,913

7. Clockstoppers .......... $7,284,214

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $22,448,547

8. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial .......... $3,568,325

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $30,734,920

9. Big Trouble .......... $3,545,204

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $3,545,204

10. A Beautiful Mind .......... $2,592,030

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $164,988,611

Reuters/Variety

John L.: