‘War of the Worlds’ holds on to top spot for second weekend

Say what you will about Tom Cruise’s public love affairs and religious zeal. They don’t seem to hurt his box-office clout.

His alien invasion film “War of the Worlds” captured $77.6 million over the four-day July 4 weekend, according to studio estimates. That’s the second-best for an Independence Day weekend, behind only last year’s “Spider-Man 2,” which raked in $115.8 million.

It also marked the largest debut ever for Cruise, director Steven Spielberg and Paramount Studios.

Still, it wasn’t enough to snap Hollywood’s losing streak. For the 19th straight weekend, ticket sales lagged behind last year’s pace, extending a new record.

But studio executives have hopes that the slump could end this week. A strong second weekend by “War of the Worlds,” combined with a healthy debut of “Fantastic Four” on Friday, could end the attendance slide.

That same weekend last year, “Anchorman” and “King Arthur” premiered to modest numbers.

“Batman Begins” was second over this holiday weekend with $18.7 million, followed by “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” with $12.7 million. The only other new release, Martin Lawrence’s “Rebound,” was No. 7 with $6 million.

Pundits had proclaimed Cruise’s career threatened by his public courtship of “Batman Begins” star Katie Holmes and recent controversial interviews. On “Oprah” and “Today,” he criticized the use of antidepressants and was vocal in his support of his religion, Scientology.

But film critics and moviegoers seemed to be less concerned with his personal antics than his professional output. About 83 percent of the nation’s critics gave “War of the Worlds” a thumbs-up, according to survey site rottentomatoes.com. And fans gave the film a grade of B-plus, according to poll-takers CinemaScore.

“Pundits are not the public,” says Rob Friedman, co-chairman of Paramount Pictures. “Ninety-nine percent of people are happy for him, happy he’s in love.

“They’re not interested in the tabloids. They’re interested in his movies.”