LOS ANGELES — Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson's “Changing Lanes” drew heavy traffic as the drama about two men bent on revenge after a fender-bender debuted in the No. 1 spot with $17.6 million.

        “Panic Room,” the top film for the last two weekends, slipped to second place with $11.3 million, while Cameron Diaz's romantic comedy “The Sweetest Thing” opened at No. 3 with $10 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

        The horror flick “Frailty,” starring Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton, premiered with $4.2 million, tying for eighth place with “National Lampoon's Van Wilder.”

        In narrower release, the satiric comedy “Human Nature” opened weakly with $300,000, averaging a meager $1,339 in 224 theaters. The film stars Patricia Arquette and Tim Robbins and was written by Charlie Kaufman (“Being John Malkovich”).

        “Changing Lanes” averaged $6,716 in 2,613 theaters, compared with $3,745 in 2,670 cinemas for “The Sweetest Thing” and $2,806 in 1,497 locations for “Frailty.”

        The overall box office continued a string of up weekends. The top 12 films grossed $84.1 million, an 11.5 percent increase from the same weekend a year ago.

        So far this year, Hollywood has posted domestic revenues of about $2.25 billion, 18 percent ahead of last year's pace, when the industry set a year-long record of $8.4 billion, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

        Healthy spring business could boost Hollywood's busy summer season, which gets an early start next weekend with the debut of “The Scorpion King,” a spinoff of “The Mummy” franchise starring pro wrestler The Rock.

        “The fact that people are in theaters in pretty big numbers in March and April bodes well for summer's chances,” Dergarabedian said. “The summer onslaught's right around the corner, and lots of movie-goers are being exposed to all the trailers for the big summer films.”

        “Changing Lanes” benefitted from generally positive reviews, Affleck's allure to women and Jackson's appeal to black audiences, said Wayne Lewellen, head of distribution for Paramount, which released the film. The audience was split 50-50 between men and women, and about 70 percent was older than 25, he said.

        That demographic breakdown should help “Changing Lanes” hold up against “The Scorpion King,” which is expected to appeal largely to teen-age boys and young males, Lewellen said.

        “That movie should have a younger audience than ours,” Lewellen said.

        “The Sweetest Thing” drew mainly 17- to 25-year-olds and a largely female audience, said Jeff Blake, president of worldwide marketing and distribution for Sony, which released the movie.

        With the eye-candy appeal of Diaz and co-stars Christina Applegate and Selma Blair, “young males liked it just as much for obvious reasons,” Blake said. “As one of the few comedies out there right now, it gives us a good chance to hold well.”

        The reissue of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” took in $1.5 million, pushing its four-week gross to $32.9 million. The movie's 20-year total climbed to $432.7 million, edging past “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace” for No. 3 on the all-time domestic box-office chart.

        Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
       1. “Changing Lanes,” $17.6 million.
       2. “Panic Room,” $11.3 million.
       3. “The Sweetest Thing,” $10 million.
       4. “Ice Age,” $8.7 million.
       5. “The Rookie,” $8.1 million.
       6. “High Crimes,” $8 million.
       7. “Clockstoppers,” $4.8 million.
       8 (tie). “Frailty,” $4.2 million.
       8 (tie). “National Lampoon's Van Wilder,” $4.2 million.
       10. “Blade II,” $4.1 million.

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