'Impact' Has Impact at the Box Office

The disaster movie "Deep Impact" swamped the box office competition, crashing in at No. 1 in its debut weekend and dethroning the basketball saga "He Got Game" during the NBA playoffs. The comet-crash-survival saga starring Robert Duvall and Téa Leoni collected $41.9 million, according to estimates. Industry analyst David Davis says "Deep Impact" lived up to its title at the box office because of an ad blitz that showed New York City engulfed by a tidal wave. "City of Angels," with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, remained in second place with $4.6 million. Despite the hoop frenzy surrounding the playoffs, Spike Lee's basketball movie, "He Got Game," which led weekend box office charts last week, dropped to this weekend's third spot, with $3.8 million. "Titanic" finished fourth with $3 million, and "Les Misérables" rounded off the top five at $2.8 million.