Los Angeles ? The big story at the weekend box office was not which movie came in first — it was “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” with $32.5 million — but which of four possible contenders placed second.

Two new films — the Angelina Jolie adventure sequel “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life” and the true-life racehorse drama “Seabiscuit” — became locked in a virtual dead heat for the follow-up slot with the recent releases “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and the action-comedy “Bad Boys II.”

Weekend earnings estimates Sunday placed all the films within $900,000 of each other. Although No. 2 appeared too close to call, the prospective victor was “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which estimates showed earning $22.4 million, followed by “Bad Boys II” with $22 million.

The “Tomb Raider” sequel ranked fourth with $21.8 million, less than half what the original film earned in its opening weekend June 2001, when it debuted with $47.7 million. “Seabiscuit” came in fifth this weekend, with $21.5 million, although Universal Pictures argued the movie was running in a different race, since it showed on at least 1,200 fewer locations than each of its rivals.

Here are the other estimated ticket sales for Friday through today at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.:

6. “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” $5 million

7. “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” $4.9 million.

8. “Johnny English,” $4.3 million.

9. “Finding Nemo,” $4 million.

10. “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,” $2.7 million.