Los Angeles — Action star Steven Seagal scored a solid comeback with "Exit Wounds," a crime thriller that debuted as the weekend's top film with $19 million.
The movie, which co-stars rapper DMX, was Seagal's best opening ever, topping the $14 million debut of "Under Siege" in 1992.
"Enemy at the Gates," a World War II adventure starring Jude Law and Ed Harris, premiered at No. 2 with $13.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Exit Wounds" stars Seagal as a rebel detective who teams with a crime lord (DMX) to fight corruption in an inner-city police precinct.
In just three days, the movie already has passed the $16.1 million total for Seagal's last film, "Fire Down Below" in 1997. "Exit Wounds" also will quickly pass the $20.4 million total for Seagal's "The Glimmer Man" from 1996.
"Enemy at the Gates," set during the siege of Stalingrad, stars Law as a Russian sniper engaged in a long-distance duel with a Nazi counterpart (Harris).
Distributor Paramount is rolling the movie out more slowly than other big releases, hoping it will benefit from good word of mouth from audiences, said Rob Friedman, vice chairman of the studio's motion-picture group.
"It's a sophisticated World War II movie, it's not Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. It's not as high-profile as some other films," he said. "We wanted to take an extra week or so to get the film into some smaller towns."
Paramount plans to expand the film to a couple hundred more theaters next weekend, Friedman said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.:
1. "Exit Wounds," $19 million.
2. "Enemy at the Gates," $13.6 million.
3. "The Mexican," $8.1 million.
4. "See Spot Run," $5.2 million.
5. "15 Minutes," $4.4 million.
6. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," $4.1 million.
7. "Down to Earth," $4 million.
8. "Hannibal," $3.7 million.
9. "Traffic," $3.41 million.
10. "Chocolat," $3.4 million.
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