Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Coming Soon! Box Office Report has been updated with the studio estimates for this weekend. Be sure to stay tuned there for the final figures on Monday afternoon.

New Line's remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, starring Jessica Biel and R. Lee Ermey, dominated the box office earning an estimated $29.1 million from 3,016 theaters for a strong average of $9,648. The Michael Bay-produced movie carried a budget of only $9.5 million. If the studio estimate holds up when final figures are released, the horror film will have the second-best opening of October ever, surpassing Meet the Parents, which made $28.6 million in 2000 and only trailing Red Dragon, which pulled in $36.5 million in 2002.

Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 held up well in its second weekend for second place. The Uma Thurman-starrer dropped 43.4% and pulled in $12.5 million to push its total to $43.3 million. Coming in close in third was Fox's newcomer Runaway Jury with $12.1 million. The drama debuted in 2,815 locations and averaged $4,298.

Fourth place belonged to Jack Black's School of Rock, which made $11.3 million in its third weekend for an impressive total of $55.2 million.

Clint Eastwood's Mystic River expanded wide into 1,467 theaters and rounded out the top five with $10.4 million. The Warner Bros. feature has collected $13.4 million in two weeks.

Cate Blanchett's Veronica Guerin, in which she plays a real-life Irish journalist slain during an investigation of Dublin druglords, bombed with $603,000 in 472 theaters, averaging just $1,278.

In limited release, Sylvia, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, opened strongly with $56,132 in three theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, averaging $18,711.

Pieces of April, a Sundance Film Festival favorite that stars Katie Holmes and Patricia Clarkson, debuted with $48,000 in six New York City and Los Angeles theaters for an $8,000 average.

This past week, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl inched past $300 million, the year's second movie to cross that mark, after Disney-Pixar's Finding Nemo. It was the first time one studio had two movies topping $300 million domestically in a single year.

Click here for the full box office estimates of the top twelve films.