Moviegoers are still hungry for dinosaurs. Jurassic Park III took the biggest bite of a strong weekend box office, earning $50.3 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates.

        America's Sweethearts, starring Julia Roberts, earned an estimated $31 million and came in second.

        It was only the second time two films opening on the same weekend both surpassed $30 million, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., which tracks box office receipts. The first was when The World is Not Enough and Sleepy Hollow opened on the same weekend in 1999.

        “It's been a great weekend, $134.5 million for the top 12 films. This is a jump-start to get the summer box office back on track,” said Exhibitor Relations president Paul Dergarabedian.

        Last weekend's top film, the Reese Witherspoon comedy Legally Blonde, slipped to third place, earning an estimated $11.05 million.

        The overall box office was up 5.7 percent from the same weekend last year.

        The third edition of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Parkseries opened Wednesday, earning a total of $80.9 million over five days.

        Higher ticket prices and a shorter running time helped the new film beat the first Jurassic Park, which had an opening weekend of $50.2 million in 1993. But it fell well short of the $90.2 million four-day Memorial Day weekend opening for The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997. That remains the biggest movie opening ever.

        “After the heat of our opening Wednesday, I expected some drop-off,” said Nikki Rocco, presi dent of distribution for Universal Pictures. “But there was a 24 percent jump in the audience Saturday from Friday . . . It's review-proof.”

        Reviews have been heavy on praise for the visual effects in Jurassic Park III, but critical of the thin story line.

        Jurassic Park III was the first of the series not directed by Mr. Spielberg, who served as executive producer. The director was Joe Johnson, whose credits include Jumanji and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

        America's Sweethearts recorded the second-biggest opening weekend ever for a Julia Roberts romantic comedy, behind only $35 million for 1999's Runaway Bride.

        The film also stars John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Billy Crystal. Mr. Crystal, who co-wrote the screenplay and produced the movie, plays a publicist who tries to reunite Hollywood's favorite couple (Mr. Cusack and Ms. Zeta-Jones) to put up a good front for a press weekend. Ms. Roberts plays Ms. Zeta-Jones' long-suffering sister and personal assistant. Former Disney studio boss Joe Roth directed.

        Two films recorded successful limited-release openings.

        Ghost World, based on a cult comic and starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi, was on five screens in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle. It earned $101,000, an average of $20,174 per screen.

        Hedwig and the Angry Inch, starring John Cameron Mitchell, is based on an off-Broadway hit musical about an East German transsexual in a kinky rock band. It earned $153,000 on nine screens for an average of $17,000 per screen.

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