Exorcist scares away competition!

The much maligned Exorcist: The Beginning opened at the top with a not-so-disastrous $18.1 million.

The film was shot twice. The first version by Paul Schrader was discarded because the producers disliked it. Rene Harlin shot the second version.

A prequel to the 1973 worldwide phenomenon Exorcist, which grossed over $200 million in America alone, the new film cost $100 million.

It stars Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard as the priest -- which was played by another Swede, legendary actor Max Von Sydow, in the first movie.

Liam Neeson, the original star of the prequel, left the film after director John Frankenheimer -- who was originally supposed to make the movie -- dropped out.

Skarsgard replaced Neeson in Schrader's version.

When Harlin shot the second version, he retained Skarsgard but replaced the other actors and rewrote the script.

Horror films usually slump by over 50 percent in the second week.

Unless the new Exorcist does extraordinary business abroad, and on video and DVD, it may have a hellish future.

In second place is the comedy, Without A Paddle, about three guys who go into the Oregon wilderness in search of lost treasure. They take a canoe upriver and everything that can go wrong does.

Critics didn't like the film but it grossed about $13.7 million. Since it didn't cost the Paramount studio a fortune, it could end up making a decent profit.

The comedy was followed by the sturdy-legged Princess Diaries 2.

Starring the ever-appealing Anne Hathaway, the movie grossed $13.1 million over the weekend, taking its gross to $66 million.

The arrival of the new horror film pushed down last week's box office champion, Alien vs Predator, to fourth place. It lost nearly 68 percent at the box office, but looks destined for a profitable $80 million gross in America.

In fifth place is Open Water (right). The survival drama in a shark infested sea, added over 2,000 theatres to its modest 55 theatre count in its second week.

It was one of two tiny budget films (the other being Garden State) to be on the top 10 list.
In sixth place, Collateral came down from the previous week's gross by about 35 percent; its gross reached $70 million. One of the best-reviewed films of the year, it is expected to get a handful of Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.

The suspense thriller was followed by three other thriller yarns aimed at older audiences: The Bourne Supremacy (gross reaching $150 million), The Manchurian Candidate ($54 million) and The Village ($104 million).

M Night Shyamlan's The Village is quietly fading away.

But it is by no means a failure. With a decent $104 million gross in a month, the $60 million film is poised to recoup its investment from North America alone.

Though many exhibitors consider the film a disappointment, its final status will be known only after it ends its foreign run and by its DVD and video sales.

The Village opened strongly in England and France over the weekend, hauling an impressive $11 million in three days from both countries.

In 10th place is Garden State, a $3 million coming-of-age comedy, which may end up making more than $20 million.

When Andrew Largeman (played by Zach Braff, who also directed the film) returns to his hometown in New Jersey for the first time in over a decade to attend his mother's funeral, he is reconnected with the world he might have wanted to forget. He also meets Samantha (Natalie Portman) who may change his life forever. But he must first confront his psychologist father (Ian Holm) and help Samantha fight her demons.

The box office this week: