According to The Hollywood Reporter, Among this weekend's four wide releases, Universal's The Interpreter was the only picture that could decipher the language of success at the boxoffice as the political thriller made off with an estimated $22.8 million to claim the top spot. Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn topline the United Nations-set film helmed by Sydney Pollack and produced by Working Title Films.

Even though Interpreter carried its share of the workload this weekend, the overall drought at the boxoffice continued. While a slight improvement on the previous two weekends, it marked the ninth straight session that fell short of last year's comparables.

MGM's The Amityville Horror defied the traditional boxoffice descent of the horror genre by taking the second spot with an estimated $14.2 million -- a sophomore frame decline of a relatively modest 40%. The horror genre typically falls in the 50%-60% range on the second weekend. The remake, starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George and directed by Andrew Douglas, has scared up about $43.8 million in 10 days.

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