By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With the eyes of the entertainment world fixed on Sunday's Academy Awards (news - web sites), the Wesley Snipes thriller "Blade II" provisionally won the best picture prize at the North American weekend box office.

The martial arts-themed vampire sequel bit off $33.1 million for the three days since its March 22 bow, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday. The film, budgeted at $48 million, was released in 2,707 theaters across the United States and Canada by New Line Cinema, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc .

Last weekend's champion, the animated adventure "Ice Age," slipped to No. 2 with $31.1 million from 3,345 theaters, according to Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc . But "Ice Age" was still tops in the studio's books, because it estimated "Blade II" only made about $30 million. The discrepancy comes down to how the Oscar broadcast, which begins at 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. EST) affected movie going. With a core crowd of young moviegoers, "Blade II" could prove relatively resistant to Oscar's charm, New Line executives reasoned. Final data will be issued on Monday.

As it stands, the "Blade II" bow represents a new record for Snipes, beating the $17 million debut of the original "Blade" in 1998. It also surpasses Jim Carrey's "Liar Liar" ($31.4 million) to rank as the second-best March opening. "Ice Age" set the March record last weekend with $46.3 million.

The top 12 films grossed $121 million, according to box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The figure is flat with last weekend, but up 74 percent from the year-ago period when "Heartbreakers" opened at No. 1 with $11.8 million.

'ICE AGE' REACHES $88 MILLION

Based on the exploits of Marvel Comics' black super hero, "Blade II" stars Snipes as a human/vampire hybrid who violently dispatches a race of super-vampires, known as the Reapers. New Line data indicated black audiences comprised almost one-third of the audience, with the gender mix evenly balanced.

After 10 days, "Ice Age" has pulled in $88 million, and is also doing well in its initial foreign outings in Germany, Britain and Mexico, said Rick Myerson, Fox's general sales manager. Budgeted in the high $50 million range, "Ice Age" revolves around a woolly mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano) and a sloth (John Leguizamo) who discover a human baby.

The top 10 contained two other debuts. The 20th anniversary reissue of "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" opened at No. 3 with $15.1 million from 3,007 theaters. The new film subtly uses digital effects to enhance some of the titular alien's movements and facial expressions. Stirring some controversy, Director Steven Spielberg also erased the guns from a scene, replacing them with walkie-talkies, and swapped the word "terrorist" with "hippie." The film was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Vivendi Universal SA .

The college comedy "Sorority Boys" opened at No. 9 with $4.2 million from 2,332 theaters. The film, released by Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Pictures, was budgeted at about $11 million.

'RINGS' NEARS $300 MILLION

The sole Oscar nominee in the top 10, the Russell Crowe drama "A Beautiful Mind" moved up one spot to No. 8 with $4.3 million from 1,455 theaters. The Universal Pictures film has pulled in $154.9 million after 94 days in release.

Leading Oscar nominee "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (New Line) held steady at No. 11 with $2.5 million from 1,317 theaters and a 97-day haul of $297.6 million. "Rings" had 13 nominations, while "Mind" had eight, tied with "Moulin Rouge," which is available on home video.

Two films released last weekend rounded out the top five. The Robert De Niro/Eddie Murphy police spoof "Showtime" (Warner Bros.) fell one spot to No. 4 with $8.2 million from 2,917 theaters. "Resident Evil," a low-budget zombie thriller released by Screen Gems, dropped two places to No. 5 with $6.6 million from 2,528 theaters. Their respective 10-day totals were $26.9 million and $28.8 million. Warner Bros is a unit of AOL Time Warner, and Screen Gems is a unit of Sony Corp (news - web sites) .

New releases next weekend include the comedy "Death to Smoochy," the children's adventure "Clockstoppers," the thriller "Panic Room" and the baseball drama "The Rookie."

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the March 22-24 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross Gross

1. Blade II .......... $32,528,016

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $32,528,016

2. Ice Age .......... $30,056,721

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $87,292,481

3. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial .......... $14,223,110

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $14,223,110

4. Showtime .......... $8,145,446

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $26,803,761

5. Resident Evil .......... $6,705,076

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $28,937,585

6. We Were Soldiers .......... $5,728,150

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $61,638,534

7. The Time Machine .......... $5,324,159

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $48,158,947

8. Sorority Boys .......... $4,127,903

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $4,127,903

9. A Beautiful Mind .......... $4,081,270

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $154,704,651

10. 40 Days and 40 Nights .......... $2,719,223

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $34,176,683

Reuters/Variety

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