'Open Season' leads the hunt at US box office

LOS ANGELES, Oct 2 (Reuters) The new animal cartoon ''Open Season'' tracked down the No. 1 spot at the North American box office, distributor Sony Pictures said yesterday.

The film, the first feature from the studio's four-year-old Sony Pictures Animation unit, sold about 23 million dollars worth of tickets during its first three days beginning on Friday.

Martin Lawrence voices a domesticated bear named Boog, who is set loose in the wilderness just before the start of hunting season.

Ashton Kutcher plays his partner-in-crime, a one-antlered mule deer.

The Sony Corp.-owned studio had expected the movie, which cost 85 million dollars to make, to open slightly lower. But the recent paucity of family movies prompted audiences to turn out, said Yair Landau, vice chairman of Sony Pictures and president of Sony Pictures Digital.

''It's got a great look and a great heart,'' he said. ''The characters are really compelling.'' Kutcher also stars in Walt Disney Co's ''The Guardian,'' sharing top billing with Kevin Costner, which opened at No. 2 with 17.7 million dollars. Kutcher plays a rookie Coast Guard rescue swimmer to Costner's grizzled veteran.

The studio said the opening was within expectations, and couples were drawn to its action/adventure and heroism. It hopes that next today's Columbus Day holiday, when about 45 per cent of children will be out of school, would underpin sales in its second weekend.

Last weekend's champion, ''Jackass Number Two,'' slipped to No 3 with 14 million dollars, taking the 10-day total for Paramount Pictures' prankster comedy to 51.5 million dollars. Paramount is a unit of Viacom Inc.

The top 10 contained one other new release, the comedy ''School for Scoundrels,'' starring Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder. It opened at No. 4 with a modest 9.1 million dollars.

Thornton's character runs a program that aims to turn spineless men into real guys. The film was released by the Weinstein Co. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, both of which are privately held.

The martial arts movie ''Jet Li's Fearless'' fell three places to No 5 in its second weekend with 4.7 million dollars. Its 10-day total rose to 17.8 million dollars. It was released by Focus Features, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal Inc.

REUTERS SBA PM0422