Oscar-nominated films see gains at box office

Although "Hannibal" remained No. 1 for a second straight week during the Presidents Day holiday weekend with $30 million, "Traffic," "Chocolat" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" enjoyed big audience gains after their best-picture nominations last Tuesday.

"Hannibal" became the first 2001 release to break the $100 million mark, bringing in $103.9 million in 10 days. It was followed by new films "Down to Earth" ($17.5 million), "Recess: School’s Out" ($10.8 million) and "Sweet November" ($10.6 million).

"Crouching Tiger" - the Chinese-language martial-arts romance nominated for 10 Academy awards - grossed $8.8 million, a 62 percent increase, according to studio estimates Sunday, landing at No. 5.

At No. 6, the drug war epic "Traffic" took in $6.5 million, a 47 percent increase over the previous weekend. "‘Traffic’ is probably the most important thing that’s happened to USA Films since its beginnings almost 18 months ago," said the company’s distribution chief, Jack Foley.

Four-day estimates were delayed due to the holiday; final figures will be released today.

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