By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The ensemble thriller "Identity," starring John Cusack (news) and Ray Liotta (news), ended the two-week reign of the comedy "Anger Management" at the North American box office on Sunday.

"Identity" earned about $17 million in its first three days of release, while "Anger Management," starring Adam Sandler (news) and Jack Nicholson (news), slipped to No. 2 with $16 million. Both were released by Sony Corp (news - web sites).'s Columbia Pictures.

Overall ticket sales fell to their lowest level in more than five months, as the studios bided their time before the unofficial kick-off of the lucrative summer season next weekend with preordained blockbuster "X2: X-Men United."

According to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, the top 12 movies grossed $78.6 million, down 11 percent from last weekend, but up nine percent from the year-ago weekend. The previous low of $68.5 million was recorded last Dec. 6-8.

The top 10 contained three other new releases, which turned in modest results at best. Best of the bunch was "Confidence," a crime thriller starring Edward Burns (news) and Dustin Hoffman (news), which opened at No. 5 with $4.8 million. The movie, which cost about $15 million to produce, was released by Lions Gate Films, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp .

DOUGLAS FAMILY DUD

"It Runs in the Family," the first on-screen collaboration between Michael Douglas (news) and his father, Kirk, flopped at No. 9 with $3.0 million. The comedy, which also stars Michael's mother and son, was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc, whose exposure was less than $7 million.

It was followed at No. 10 by "The Real Cancun," a reality film revolving around a group of drunk and horny kids on spring break, with $2.3 million. It was released by New Line Cinema, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc .

Rounding out the top five were the family adventure "Holes" at No. 3 with $13 million, and the comedy spoof "Malibu's Most Wanted" at No. 4 with $7.7 million, both down one slot from their bows last weekend. "Holes" was released by Walt Disney Pictures, a unit of Walt Disney Co ; and "Malibu's Most Wanted" by AOL Time Warner's Warner Bros. Pictures.

In Agatha Christie style, "Identity" revolves around a group of strangers who are knocked off one by one when they are stranded for the night at a remote motel. The $28 million film, directed by James Mangold, also stars Amanda Peet (news), Alfred Molina (news), Clea DuVall (news) and Rebecca DeMornay.

Columbia's domestic distribution president, Rory Bruer, described it as "scary with a brain," but critics were less impressed. The Hollywood Reporter said the screenplay was "one of the most ludicrous ... in recent memory."

"ANGER" PASSES $100 MILLION

"Anger Management" passed the century mark on Saturday, and its total now stands at $104.5 million after just 17 days. Bruer said it has a shot at reaching $150 million. "Holes" has earned $36.8 million and "Malibu's Most Wanted" $24.2 million, both after 10 days.

"Confidence," directed by James Foley (news), stars Hoffman in an unusual role as a flamboyant crime boss who oversees a major heist. Rachel Weisz (news) and Andy Garcia (news) also star. The film played strongest to audiences aged 25-54, and 78 percent of all viewers rated it as very good or excellent, said Lions Gate distribution president Tom Ortenberg. He expected it to end up with about $15 million, matching its budget.

About 75 percent of the audience for "It Runs In The Family" were aged over 35, said Eric Lomis, MGM's distribution president.

"It's a labor of love from the Douglas family, and we felt like it deserved a shot," he said. MGM funded the movie with Disney's Buena Vista Int'l. unit, which is handling foreign distribution.

New Line executives were not available for comment on "The Real Cancun," which comes from the producers of MTV's successful "Real World" franchise. The film jockeyed with Universal Pictures' similarly themed "The Quest" to reach cinemas first before the producers of the latter decided to hold off until later in the summer. Each cost under $8 million. Universal is a unit of Vivendi Universal SA .

Besides 20th Century Fox's "X2" comic book sequel, the other wide new release next weekend is "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," a feature spinoff of the hit Disney Channel series starring Hillary Duff. Fox is a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc .

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the top 10 movies at the North American box office for the April 25-27 weekend, according to studio estimates collected Sunday by Reuters. Final data will be issued Monday.

1. Identity .......... $16.2 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $16.2 million

2. Anger Management .......... $15 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $103.5 million

3. Holes .......... $12.6 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $36.4 million

4. Malibu's Most Wanted .......... $7.3 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $23.8 million.

5. Confidence .......... $4.6 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $4.6 million

6. Bulletproof Monk .......... $4.4 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $19 million

7. What a Girl Wants .......... $3.2 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $32.9 million

8. Phone Booth .......... $3 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $40.2 million

9. It Runs in the Family .......... $2.8 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $2.8 million

10. The Real Cancun, New Line .......... $2.1 million

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $2.1 million, one week

John L.:  Michael Douglas and MTV all jobbed to the mysteries of Identity.  Whodathunkit?

I love writing reviews about movies that you can't say what the plot is about because there are so many twists and turns. It makes my job easier. All I can really say about Identity, the new John Cusack, Ray Liotta, and Amanda Peet film is to go see it. Knowing that there is a twist or 2 or 3 already exposes its mysteries, but there is really no way to figure this film out on a first viewing. From the first shot to the very last shot, the movie is a puzzle wrapped up in an enigma. The basic plot is that during a rain storm 10 people end up at the same motel and one by one Agatha Christie style they end up dead. Now, that right there says too much. Oh, but there is more. For some reason all of this coincides with a hearing to decide whether a convicted murderer should be executed the next day or is could he get a stay if he is proven to be insane. After 15 minutes of screen time, all of this is established and the fun is figuring out where the movie is going with it. Are we looking at the present, the past, another world, a dream, heaven, hell, or is it something unlike the world has ever seen. Well, it is sort of all of that and more. The movie is structured so that you never trust anyone or anything that happens on screen. You suspect everyone that shows up as being not what they appear. Only once does the movie reveal an obvious clue to the movie's secret and even that is suspect. The movie also has that moment that films like this love, the alternate angle flashback sequence that shows you all of the little things you missed. Sixth Sense did this to reveal its secret, and Identity's weakest moment is when they pull this bit out. Thirty seconds before it occurs you think one thing, and then 30 seconds later everything you believed to be true has turned out to be a lie. The movie is acted and directed well. It is fun to see Cusack in this movie since psychological horror is a new genre for him. He is the lead guy trying to figure out what is going on and in some ways the main suspect. Ray Liotta is an actor that seems to be able to play anything and his excitable cop has some great moments. He too could be a killer, or he could be the one to save them all. For the second time in her career, Amanda Peet has given a good performance. She plays a hooker with a heart of gold (is there any other kind in movies) who just wants to move to Florida. Could she also be a psychopathic killer. Maybe. The others in the group are just as suspect. Identity's title is an odd choice because it means many things beyond the "identity" of the killer. About three fourths of the way through the movie, that secret is revealed but as soon as it is, it creates a brand new mystery. Go see Identity. It is a fun and a somewhat scary movie to watch. Most of the violence happens off screen but it does not hurt the drama that unfolds. There is much more going on than you can imagine. I will say that while watching it, I inadvertently figured out the "identity" of the killer, but as it turned out, I had no idea what that truly meant. This movie can only be seen once, maybe twice, but after that there is no point. Final Review: 3 stars out of 5; 6 1/2 out of 10; B; thumbs up.