December 8, 2003 -- The "Last" came in first.
Tom Cruise's "The Last Samurai" - a movie about a Civil War veteran who teaches gunplay to sword-wielding Japanese - took top honors at the weekend box office.
But the bad weather put a chill on some ticket sales: The flick garnered only a modest $24.4 million in its first weekend - the worst debut for a major Cruise flick since "Eyes Wide Shut," which opened with $21.7 million in 1999.
The snowstorm that hit the Northeast bears much of the blame.
"Considering what we faced on the East Coast, we're very, very pleased," said Dan Fellman, president of distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures.
He estimated that the picture could have made $29 million if not for the bad weather.
Meanwhile, former "Dark Angel" Jessica Alba danced her way to the No. 2 spot with "Honey," a hip-hop tale of a girl from the 'hood making it big. The film took in $14 million in its opening weekend.
At No. 3 was Eddie Murphy's "The Haunted Mansion," which scared up $9.5 million in its second weekend.
"Elf " held on strong in its fifth week, taking $8.13 million and raising its total gross to $139.6 million. "The Cat in the Hat" fell four places to No. 5, taking in $7.3 million this weekend.
With Post Wire Services
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