By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Just Married," a new lowbrow comedy about a hellish honeymoon, ended the three-week reign of the "Lord of the Rings" sequel at the North American box office, according to studio estimates issued Sunday.

Two other movies also entered the top 10, both after playing for several weeks in limited runs: Denzel Washington (news)'s directing debut "Antwone Fisher" rose six places to No. 9, and the Nicolas Cage (news) comedy "Adaptation" jumped nine to No. 10.

Amid a continuing dearth of notable new releases, ticket sales for the top 12 films slid almost 19 percent from last weekend to $88.6 million, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The tally was virtually flat compared with the year-ago weekend.

"Just Married," starring "That '70s Show" goofball Ashton Kutcher (news) and real-life girlfriend Brittany Murphy (news), bowed with $18 million for the three days beginning Friday -- matching the modest budget for the Twentieth Century Fox project.

As awards season gathers pace -- with the Golden Globes handed out next Sunday and the Oscar nominations unveiled Feb. 11 -- the studios are busy building buzz for their prestige pictures rather than churning out new films. But a smaller entry like "Just Married," which was lambasted by critics, can succeed by targeting undiscerning viewers.

WITLESS AND FLUFFY

Kutcher and Murphy play mismatched lovers who can barely endure each other during a European honeymoon. The Wall Street Journal said the film "takes the stale cake for witlessness," while the New York Times was marginally kinder, calling it a "fluffy little doodad."

But legions of young moviegoers did not care. The casting of Kutcher and Murphy, who co-starred as Eminem (news - web sites)'s girfriend in the recent smash "8 Mile," had them hooked. Two-thirds of the audience was under 21, said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at Fox, a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc.

New Line Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," meanwhile, slipped to No. 2 with $15.0 million. The 26-day total for the hobbit fantasy rose to $283.6 million, closing in fast on the $313 million total of its 2001 predecessor, "The Fellowship of the Ring."

DreamWorks' Leonardo DiCaprio (news) crime caper "Catch Me If You Can" was also down a notch at No. 3 with $14.8 million. The film, directed by Steven Spielberg (news), became the 23rd release of 2002 to pass the century mark. Its total stands at $119.5 million after 19 days.

"Two Weeks Notice," a Warner Bros. romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock (news) and Hugh Grant (news), dropped a slot to No. 4 with $6.7 million; its 24-day total rose to $78.9 million.

New Line's Jack Nicholson (news) comedy "About Schmidt" held steady at No. 5 in its second weekend of wide release with $6.3 million; its 31-day total rose to $21.4 million. The film is playing in just 865 theaters, while the others in the top five are each in more than 2,700 venues.

'FISHER'

"Antwone Fisher," a fact-based drama about an angry young sailor who becomes a screenwriter, grossed $3.8 million in its fourth weekend. It was playing on just 1,006 theaters after expanding from 186 the week before. Its total stands at $10.5 million. The film was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, the arthouse arm of Twentieth Century Fox.

In its sixth weekend, "Adaptation" added 451 theaters for a total of 560 and grossed $2.9 million, taking its total to $9.5 million. Cage also plays a struggling screenwriter. The film was released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp (news - web sites) .

Also in limited release, "Chicago" jumped three places to No. 6 with $5.6 million from just 362 theaters, an increase of 58 sites. Its 17-day total rose to $17.1 million. The screen average for the Miramax Films musical was $15,470 -- the highest in the top 10, followed by $7,225 for "About Schmidt."

New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures are units of AOL Time Warner Inc. DreamWorks SKG is privately held. Miramax is a unit of Walt Disney Co.

Three comedies enter the fray next holiday weekend, the observance of Martin Luther King's birthday: "A Guy Thing," starring Jason Lee (news), Julia Stiles (news) and Selma Blair (news); "National Security," starring Martin Lawrence (news) and Steve Zahn (news); and "Kangaroo Jack," starring Jerry O'Connell (news).

Reuters/Variety

LOS ANGELES(Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the January 10-12 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

1. Just Married .......... $17,548,993

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $17,548,993

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers .......... $14,755,306

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $283,421,517

3. Catch Me If You Can .......... $14,630,444

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $119,370,261

4. Two Weeks Notice .......... $6,833,423

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $78,993,281

5. About Schmidt .......... $6,403,691

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $21,597,264

6. Chicago .......... $5,690,875

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $17,171,239

7. Maid in Manhattan .......... $5,144,633

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $83,850,874

8. Gangs of New York .......... $4,829,938

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $54,925,876

9. Antwone Fisher .......... $3,783,122

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $10,434,944

10. The Wild Thornberrys Movie .......... $2,844,770

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $35,165,937

Reuters/Variety

John L.:  Just Married has shocked the pundits and reached the top spot.  That's called good marketing.  About Schmidt is turning heads as a movie that will earn Jack Nicholson another Oscar.  We we have to see about that.

Jack Nicholson's name in the credits of a movie used to mean that you would be in for a tour de force of manic activity. From his pain obsessed dental patient in "Little Shop of Horrors" to his lobotomized loon, McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" to the possessed hack writer, Jack Torrance in "The Shining," Nicholson is equivalent to crazy. The energy he put into his roles was amazing to see. As of late though, this "Joker" is showing his age, and so are his movies. As a working actor in his mid fixities, Jack Nicholson has finally grown up. He realizes he is not a kid anymore and can't pull of one of his classic "stick it between your knees" temper tantrums he did effortlessly 25 years ago. A few years ago, Nicholson received his third Academy Award Oscar for his portrayal of Melvin Udall in "As Good as it Gets." The character in there was a modern Archie Bunker type who hated and was afraid of everyone, but still had this generous enough heart to still endear himself to others. It was an overrated film and performance, but at least it had some point to it and Nicholson was surrounded by very talented performers, especially the surprisingly good Greg "Talk Soup" Kinnear. About Schmidt is almost a remake of a sequel to as Good as it Gets without it being anything like it at all. Nicholson stars as Warren Schmidt, a recently retired insurance guy who predicts according to a person's age when they are most likely to die. The beginning of the movie is a long 2 minute scene of just Schmidt staring at his wall clock as it ticks and ticks and ticks towards the five o'clock quitting hour. Once five hits, Schmidt's purpose in life becomes nearly halved as he is now stuck at home with his oddball wife he is becoming quite annoyed with and a grown daughter who is about to marry a knucklehead. He realizes his life is boring and there is a lack of direction. Will he ever make a difference in this world, or will he just sit around and wait to die? These types of decisions are excruciating to watch on screen as the character's boredom is forced upon us as we view this supposed intelligent dreck. This movie is a slice of life and death with very little going on. The movie flows from one point to another, and when it seems like it might let Nicholson go off, it holds back and does not deliver. The journey Schmidt takes to find himself is not exciting or interesting in anyway. It just becomes a literal road trip movie as Schmidt wanders the midwest to arrive at his daughter's wedding. About Schmidt wants to be special, and adult like, and real, but it is just another wannabe sentimental, slight comedy, more dramatic dud. Critics have been beaming about the acting and story of this film, but it is not very engaging. There are really only two interesting things that kept my interest. Schmidt decides to sponsor one of those Sally Struthers type poor children in Tanzania and throughout the film he rants about his life to the child in letters. These are funny in their bluntness and I looked forward to their moments. If there is a sequel, I can see Schmidt adopting the child and raising it as his own to continue the finding your purpose in life theme. The line "Dear Ndugu" will haunt me for months. The other interesting thing in the movie is the performance of Kathy Bates as the mother of Schmidt's daughter's fiancé. Bates plays Roberta, who seems to live life to seize the diem, or carpe the day. She says what she feels, and does what she wants including a fully nude time in the hot tub. Quite the body, that Kathy Bates has, I'll tell you what. She's good, but it is the same Bates character you see her play in every movie. She and Nicholson will probably get nominated for Oscars for their roles, but they have been much better in better material. I am going to be the 5th dentist and say that I can't recommend this movie. It is just pointless, dull, and never gets to a satisfying point. It was like staring at a wall for 2 hours waiting for the hands on a clock to move. Don't fall for the hype. Final Review: 2 stars out of 5; 5 out of 10; C+; thumbs down. "Dear Ndugu. I have just seen a movie about your sponsor and it sucks. Stay in Tanzania and eat bugs. They have more substance than this crap."

That's all for this week. More in the future.  Bye for now.