By Carl DiOrio

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Sony's ``Black Hawk Down'' soared to a three-peat performance atop North American box office rankings with $11.5 million in estimated sales over the difficult Super Bowl weekend. The Somalia war tale's total cruised to $75.1 million.

Disney took the No. 2 and 3 positions, mushing ``Snow Dogs'' and ``The Count of Monte Cristo'' to $9.9 million and $9 million in estimated box office, respectively.

It was a third consecutive silver-medal finish for the Cuba Gooding Jr. comedy ``Dogs,'' while the swashbuckling ``Count'' climbed two rungs in its sophomore sessions. Both pictures enjoyed slim 24% drops.

``Snow Dogs'' and ``The Royal Tenenbaums'' helped Disney grab the market share crown for January with $112 million for the month. Sony ($101 million) and New Line ($97 million) placed second and third. The top film of the month was New Line's ``The Lord of the Rings'' ($86 million).

Another sophomore player, Warner Bros.' feel-good drama ``A Walk to Remember,'' finished fourth this weekend with $8.8 million on a skimpy 28% decline. And Screen Gems' second-week suspenser ``The Mothman Prophecies'' was sixth with $7.5 million on an acceptable 33% fall-off.

But 20th Century Fox's chopsocky laffer ``Kung Pow: Enter the Fist'' fell a heftier 46% to $3.8 million over its second frame. That was good for ninth place, unchanged in rank from last weekend.

Industrywide, the session was roughly flat with a year-ago at an estimated $101 million in total grosses, according to data from box office tracker ACNielsen EDI. But ths current weekend still marked a Super Bowl-weekend record.

That's because pro football's annual championship -- which preoccupies most U.S. males and many femmes -- came one weekend later than usual, due to a schedule delay after Sept. 11. And grosses bested a previous record of $97 million in Super Bowl-frame box office set last year.

In both cases, totals were boosted by prominent femme-friendly titles -- ``Walk to Remember'' this year and ``The Wedding Planner'' last.

Elsewhere this weekend, Screen Gems' youth comedy ``Slackers'' opened in a 10th place tie with Paramount's teen comedy ``Orange County.'' Each grossed an estimated $3 million domestically.

Sony acquired U.S. rights to ``Slackers'' from the late Destination Films for $4 million. Alliance Atlantis is the Canadian distributor. The $3 million in sales covers both countries.

``We picked it up mostly for video,'' Sony marketing and distribution president Jeff Blake observed.

The Universal biopic ``A Beautiful Mind'' pushed its total to an impressive $104.6 million through seven frames with another $8.5 million in fifth place this weekend.

The New Line fantasy ``Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' -- a $630 million-plus worldwide phenomenon -- was seventh with $6.6 million. And the studio's family drama ``I Am Sam'' landed eighth with $6.5 million.

Miramax's Nicole Kidman starrer ``Birthday Girl'' bowed out of the top 10, unwrapping $2.5 million from 1,000 playdates, or $2,500 per engagement. The quirky romancer played to audiences 60% female, with most patrons aged 21 or older.

The studio -- which notes ``Girl'' played best in major-market arthouses and upscale suburban venues -- plans to hold it in current locations for at least another week.

Miramax's Danish-language ``Italian for Beginners'' added 10 engagements this weekend for a total 14 and grossed $150,000, or a fluent $10,700 per playdate.

And its Sissy Spacek starrer ``In the Bedroom'' rolled into 84 more locations for a total 549, grossing an estimated $1.9 million, or $3,461 per site. ``Bedroom'' may be slowing as a commercial crossover from its arthouse base, though kudos-season notices for cast and others could stoke further interest.

Universal Focus' French-language ``Brotherhood of the Wolf'' expanded 101 theaters to 393 and ate up $1.8 million, or $4,590 per venue. The actioner's total rose to $6.7 million.

And Fine Line's Todd Solondz-helmed ``Storytelling'' added one playdate for a total five and grossed $53,000, or an average $10,600. The picture broadens to 50 runs on Friday.

Also next weekend, Warners' Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer ``Collateral Damage'' -- delayed by content sensitivities after Sept. 11 -- is among three pictures set for wide release. Others include the MGM actioner ``Rollerball,'' which had been delayed by marketing changes; and the Universal family comedy ``Big Fat Liar.''

Meanwhile, Sony filled a government request this week to ship several screeners of ``Black Hawk Down'' to military bases in Afghanistan and the surrounding region. Military officials plan to screen the heroic war drama for troops over coming weeks.

Reuters/Variety REUTERS

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the February 1-3 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross Gross

1. Black Hawk Down .......... $11,112,555

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $75,063,935

2. Snow Dogs .......... $10,199,650

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $51,127,496

3. A Walk To Remember .......... $8,836,201

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $23,325,402

4. The Count of Monte Cristo .......... $8,772,280

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $23,371,251

5. A Beautiful Mind .......... $8,403,690

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $104,502,101

6. The Mothman Prophecies .......... $7,364,011

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $21,221,640

7. I Am Sam .......... $6,303,148

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $17,293,331

8. The Lord of the Rings .......... $5,704,259

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $266,274,199

9. Kung Pow! Enter the Fist .......... $3,851,312

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $12,099,500

10. Orange County .......... $2,873,842

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $37,793,336

Note: ``Slackers? opened at No. 11 with $2,785,283, while ''Birthday Girl'' opened at No. 12 with $2,370,809.

Reuters/Variety REUTERS

John L.: