BRICK`HOUSE’: “Bringing Down the House” is apparently built to last. After a surprising debut, the cross-cultural comedy hung on atop the box-office beam with a mild 29 percent drop-off in week two. It’s already Queen Latifah’s personal best in a starring role. And it should let Steve Martin top the $100 million tree line for just the second time.
THE UP SIDE: The neck-and-neck race for second was a photo finish, with Frankie Muniz and “Agent Cody Banks” closing a nose ahead of Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro in “The Hunted.” The wild guys actually had a higher average per screen, but the kid spy cost only $20 million to make, so look for this not-so-secret “Agent” to triumph long-term.
BOMB SQUAD: Rats! It sounded like a match made in heaven … or a little south of there. Longtime big-screen creep Crispin Glover as a rodent-worshiping creep in the remake of “Willard.” But despite a huge publicity push, Crispin got crisped on opening weekend, finishing eighth with just $4 million in hand. Cats across America are high-fiving.
