Murphy's 'Norbit' wins weekend with $34.2 million debut in U.S. and Canada

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Eddie Murphy's comedy "Norbit'' opened as the weekend's top movie in the United States and Canada with $34.2 million, with "The Silence of the Lambs'' prequel "Hannibal Rising'' debuting at No. 2 with $13.1 million.

The top 20 movies at theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC:

1. "Norbit,'' Paramount, $34,195,434, 3,136 locations, $10,904 average, $34,195,434, one week.

2. "Hannibal Rising,'' MGM, $13,051,650, 3,003 locations, $4,346 average, $13,051,650, one week.

3. "Because I Said So,'' Universal, $9,221,130, 2,529 locations, $3,646 average, $25,805,720, two weeks.

4. "The Messengers,'' Sony Screen Gems, $7,218,187, 2,529 locations, $2,854 average, $24,742,205, two weeks.

5. "Night at the Museum,'' Fox, $5,754,359, 2,702 locations, $2,130 average, $232,150,355, eight weeks.

6. "Epic Movie,'' Fox, $4,570,090, 2,806 locations, $1,629 average, $35,594,259, three weeks.

7. "Smokin' Aces,'' Universal, $4,113,020, 2,199 locations, $1,870 average, $31,174,140, three weeks.

8. "Pan's Labyrinth,'' Picturehouse, $3,577,283, 1,143 locations, $3,130 average, $26,619,057, seven weeks.

9. "Dreamgirls,'' Paramount, $2,980,967, 2,284 locations, $1,305 average, $97,006,872, nine weeks.

10. "The Queen,'' Miramax, $2,373,121, 1,564 locations, $1,517 average, $48,897,648, 20 weeks.

11. "Stomp the Yard,'' Sony Screen Gems, $2,358,159, 2,045 locations, $1,153 average, $59,080,670, five weeks.

12. "The Pursuit of Happyness,'' Sony, $2,353,543, 1,777 locations, $1,324 average, $160,490,618, nine weeks.

13. "Catch and Release,'' Sony, $1,760,183, 1,561 locations, $1,128 average, $14,406,807, three weeks.

14. "Letters From Iwo Jima,'' Warner Bros., $1,729,451, 781 locations, $2,214 average, $9,935,921, eight weeks.

15. "Babel,'' Paramount Vantage, $1,677,367, 919 locations, $1,825 average, $32,019,555, 16 weeks.

16. "Notes on a Scandal,'' Fox Searchlight, $1,542,843, 649 locations, $2,377 average, $13,926,668, eight weeks.

17. "The Departed,'' Warner Bros., $1,342,338, 766 locations, $1,752 average, $130,744,874, 19 weeks.

18. "The Last King of Scotland,'' Fox Searchlight, $1,340,740, 540 locations, $2,483 average, $11,449,370, 20 weeks.

19. "Freedom Writers,'' Paramount, $1,018,435, 1,125 locations, $905 average, $35,751,265, six weeks.

20. "Children of Men,'' Universal, $809,190, 486 locations, $1,665 average, $33,924,363, eight weeks.

Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Vivendi Universal; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; DreamWorks, Paramount and Paramount Classics are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.-AP