‘21′ sacks ‘Leatherheads’: Universal pigskin pic drops box office ball

Universal’s “Leatherheads,” a period pigskin comedy starred and directed by George Clooney, failed to convert pre-release projections into box office glory and finished second this weekend to Sony’s repeat champ “21.”

The Las Vegas card-counting drama dropped a modest 37% to ring up an estimated $15.1 million over its second frame with a $46.5 million cumulative, while the Clooney vehicle chugged to just $13.5 million in opening grosses.

Fox Walden’s family fantasy “Nim’s Island” copped third place with $13.3 million. Fox’s “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” finished in fourth with $9.1 million over its fourth outing yielding a $131.1 million cumulative.

“The Ruins,” an adaptation of Scott Smith’s 2006 best-seller from DreamWorks, Paramount and Spyglass, bowed in fifth with $7.8 million.

MGM/Dimension’s comedy spoof “Superhero Movie” fell 43% from opening grosses to $5.4 million, good for sixth place and a $16.9 million cumulative. Paramount’s Iraq War drama “Stop-Loss” tumbled from the top 10 with a 49% slide to $2.3 million, collecting a 10-day gross of $8.2 million.

Industrywide, the session’s $95 million in collective box office represented a big 23% decline from the same frame last year, according to Nielsen EDI data. The year-ago frame was an Easter weekend and thus was bolstered by the holiday’s generally more robust box office.

But seven of the last eight weekends have been marked by downticks in year-over-year comparisons, and the latest underperforming frame — hampered a bit by preoccupation with Final Four telecasts — hardly gets April off to an auspicious start.

The recent weakness has also taken its toll on the year-to-date comparison with 2007: 2008 now trails the same portion of last year by 1%, with $2.2 billion in the industry’s boxoffice coffers so far.

Among this weekend’s limited openers, Paramount Classics’ “Shine a Light,” a Rolling Stones documentary directed by Martin Scorsese, unspooled in 276 theaters to gross $1.5 million, or a solid $5,475 per venue. Some $1.1 million of the total came from 93 high-grossing Imax venues.

The Weinstein Co.’s high-profile drama “My Blueberry Nights,” featuring Norah Jones, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz, debuted in six locations and rung up $73,742, an auspicious $12,290 per site.

And IFC’s French-language drama “The Flight of the Red Balloon,” helmed by Taiwanese director Hsiao-hsien Hou (”Cafe Lumiere”), bowed with $37,235 from a pair of playdates for a propitious per-screen average of $19,618.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, Fox Searchlight and the Weinstein Co.’s Spanish-language drama “Under the Same Room,” starring America Ferrara, added 47 theaters for a total of 437 and grossed $1.7 million, a sturdy $3,910 per venue, with an $8.9 million cumulative.

IDP/Samuel Goldwyn’s “Priceless” added 17 locations for a total of 41 and grossed $165,148, an acceptable $4,028 per site, with a cumulative of $320,527.

Sony Pictures Classics’ Holocaust drama “The Counterfeiters” added 17 theaters for a total of 115 and grossed $387,817, a satisfactory $3,372 per venue, with a $2.9 million cume.

ThinkFilm’s Italian-language comedy “My Brother Is an Only Child” added four locations for a total of five and grossed $22,370, or $4,474 per site, with a cumulative of $36,682.

“Chapter 27,” Peace Arch’s drama about the murder of John Lennon, added four engagements for a total of five and grossed $16,467, or $3,293 per venue, with a cumulative of $34,377.

1. “21,” $15.1 million.

2. “Leatherheads,” $13.5 million.

3. “Nim’s Island,” $13.3 million.

4. “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”, $9.1 million.

5. “The Ruins,” $7.8 million.

6. “Superhero Movie,” $5.4 million.

7. “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns,” $3.51 million.

8. “Drillbit Taylor,” $3.5 million.

9. “Shutter,” $2.9 million.

10. “10,000 B.C.”, $2.8 million.