US box office rallies

Hardball has a tear-jerker twist in the story

Sports drama Hardball has topped the US and Canada box office in a strong movie-going weekend despite the terrorist attacks.

Cinemas were relatively empty on Friday as many Americans watched events on television news, but on Saturday cinema audiences returned.

US box office top five

1. Hardball

2. The Glass House

3. The Musketeer

4.The Others

5. Two Can Play That Game

"A lot of people wanted an escape," said Rob Friedman, vice-chairman of Paramount, which made the chart-topping Hardball.

The film tells the story of a down-and-out gambler goaded into coaching an inner-city youth baseball team.

According to advance figures by Exhibitor, which tracks film earnings, the melodrama opened at number one in the US box office, taking $10.1m (£6.84m).

The Musketeer gives the Dumas classic a twist

That is almost equal to the opening that martial arts adventure The Musketeer made last week.

Overall, the weekend box office returns were about 42% higher than at the same time last year, $54.1m (£36.6m) compared to $37.8m (£25.6m).

The Musketeer fell back to third place with $5.3m (£3.5m) behind another newcomer, The Glass House.

This psychological thriller stars Leelee Sobieski and took $6.1m (£4.1m).

The Others: Produced by Kidman's ex-husband Cruise

Exhibitor president Paul Dergarabedian said that there had been "fear and apprehension" about the effects of the tragedy on the industry.

He was relieved that there had not been an adverse affect.

"Movies have always been a great diversion and relief for people," he added.

In fourth place - up from last week's fifth position, was The Others, starring Nicole Kidman, which took £4.8m (£3.2m)

The romantic comedy Two Can Play That Game came in fifth, earning an estimated $4.7m (£3.1m) in its second week.

The film stars Vivica A Fox as a vindictive girlfriend.