Sarah Michelle Gellar

’Grudge’ holds on to first place with $22.4 mil

Sony’s "The Grudge" held on to the top spot at the boxoffice for a second straight weekend as the horror pic starring Sarah Michelle Gellar grossed an estimated $22.4 million over the Halloween weekend period. Universal’s Ray Charles biopic "Ray" starring Jamie Foxx in the title role debuted at No. 2 on the weekend chart with an estimated $20.1 million. Lions Gate’s R-rated horror entry "Saw" opened in third with an estimated $17.4 million. DreamWorks’ "Shark Tale" swam away with an estimated $8 million in fourth place. Miramax’s "Shall We Dance" rounded out the weekend top five with an estimated $6.3 million. In moderate release, New Line’s controversial Nicole Kidman starrer "Birth" debuted in 11th place with an estimated $1.7 million from 550 theaters. In limited release, Fox Searchlight’s "Sideways" added 12 theaters to bring its count to 16 and uncorked an estimated $436,000 or a stout $27,250 per theater to take 15th place. Final figures will be released Monday.