Weekend box office

What a difference a few months make. In July, box-office grosses were running as much as 5% less than the same period in 2002, triggering speculation that the public was tired of Hollywood’s all-sequels all-the-time approach to summer. But an unexpectedly strong September, led by the slick horror film “Underworld” ($21.8 million) on top of last week’s strong opening of “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” has nearly erased the deficit. The box office year-to-date is now off only about 1% from the comparable period last year, according to box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co.

-- Robert W. Welkos

*--* MOVIE (STUDIO) 3-DAY GROSS TOTAL (MILL) VENUES AVG/VENUE WKS 1 Underworld $21.8 $21.8 2,915 $7,463 1 (Sony) 2 Secondhand Lions $12.1 $12.1 3,013 $4,029 1 (New Line) 3 Fighting $11.8 $11.8 2,026 $5,804 1 Temptations (Paramount) 4 Once Time in Mex $11.0 $41.0 3,289 $3,347 3 (Sony) 5 Cold Creek Manor $8.2 $8.2 2,035 $4,037 1 (Buena Vista) 6 Matchstick Men $7.6 $24.2 2,711 $2,786 3 (Warner Bros.) 7 Dickie Roberts: $3.8 $17.3 2,083 $1,816 4 Frmr Chd Star (Paramount)

8 Cabin Fever $3.6 $14.7 2,105 $1,715 2 (Lions Gate) 9 Pirates of the $3.5 $292.5 1,746 $2,008 12 Carib (Buena Vista) 10 Lost in $2.6 $4.0 183 $14,332 2 Translation (Focus Features)

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Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.