Disney's debut of Remember the Titans appeared to lift the box office out of a month-long slump, scoring well with audiences in all demographic groups and earning $20.1 million in ticket sales, according to final figures released by Exhibitor Relations Monday.

Warner Bros.' reissue of The Exorcist also fared well in its second week, taking in $7.2 million, while the critically praised Almost Famous remained in third place with $5.6 million.

Although ticket sales for the top 12 films over the weekend were significantly higher than those for any weekend since Labor Day, the total of $53.7 million was 32 percent below the comparable weekend a year ago.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):
1. Remember the Titans, Disney, $20,905,831, (New); 2. The Exorcist, Warner Bros., $7,205,523, ($17,671,975); 3. Almost Famous, DreamWorks, $5,570,441, ($17,833,970); 4. Urban Legends: Final Cut, Sony, $4,406,105, ($14,678,251); 5. Bring It On, Universal, $3,008,525, ($59,696,570); 6. The Watcher, Universal, $2,280,260, ($26,009,895); 7. Nurse Betty, USA, $2,072,981, ($21,003,845); 8. Bait, Warner Bros., $1,731,888, ($13,244,329); 9. What Lies Beneath, DreamWorks, $1,644,746, ($150,596,856); 10. Beautiful, Destination, $1,409,433, (New).

Opening in limited release, Christopher Guest's Best in Show took in $413,435 in only 13 theaters, a howling $31,803 per-theater average. The film festival favorite Girlfight earned $197,904 on just 28 screens, for an average of $7,068 per screen.

Source: Studio Briefing