Moviegoers are still wild about 'Harry'

LOS ANGELES -- The boy wizard held off an interstellar fugitive, robotic wives, and a talking cat to stay on top at theaters.

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was the top movie for a second weekend, taking in $35.1 million to lift its 10-day total to $158.1 million, according to studio estimates yesterday.

"Shrek 2" held up well in its fourth weekend, slipping from second to third place with $24 million but pushing its domestic haul to $354 million. That made it the top-grossing animated movie ever, passing the $339.7 million gross of "Finding Nemo."

The sci-fi saga "The Chronicles of Riddick," with Vin Diesel returning as the escaped killer turned anti-hero from 2000's "Pitch Black," debuted at No. 2 with $24.6 million.

Nicole Kidman's "The Stepford Wives," a black comedy remake of the 1970s thriller about a town where men replace their mates with Barbie doll robots, opened in fourth place with $22.2 million.

"Garfield: The Movie," featuring Bill Murray as mouthpiece for the comic strip fat cat, premiered at No. 5 with $21.7 million.

Revenues for the third "Harry Potter" fell a steep 63 percent from the movie's $93.7 million opening weekend gross. In November 2002, revenues for "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" fell 52 percent in its second weekend. "Prisoner of Azkaban" was the first "Harry Potter" movie to open in summer, when competition is stronger. The movie's 10-day total still is almost $10 million ahead of "Chamber of Secrets," which took in $148.4 million in that length of time.