‘Transporter 2’ hauls in weekend’s biggest box office

Jason Statham delivered a bigger box-office package this time, with his action sequel “Transporter 2” taking in $20.25 million to debut as the top weekend movie.

The follow-up’s solid payday over the four-day Labor Day weekend was more than twice the haul for “The Transporter,” which took in $9.1 million in its three-day opening weekend in October 2002.

“Transporter 2” took over the No. 1 slot from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” which slipped to second place with $16.6 million after two weekends on top, according to studio estimates. “Virgin” raised its total domestic gross to $71.9 million.

The well-reviewed “The Constant Gardener,” starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in a John le Carre suspense thriller, premiered in third place with $10.8 million.

On the flip side were two new wide releases soundly trashed by critics and generally ignored by audiences.

“Underclassman,” an action comedy starring Nick Cannon as a cop who goes undercover at a high school to investigate a murder, flopped with just $3.1 million.

“A Sound of Thunder,” with Edward Burns and Ben Kingsley in an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s sci-fi story about time travelers who disrupt evolution on a trip to visit dinosaurs, had a paltry $1.15 million.

Hollywood ended its worst summer for movie attendance since 1997 on a positive note, with overall revenues rising during the long weekend. The top 12 movies took in $96.4 million, up 16 percent from Labor Day weekend last year.

“It’s somewhat ironic in the final weekend of one of the worst summers ever that we have a strong showing,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. “Hopefully, this sets a positive tone heading into the fall and holiday season.”

Domestic grosses from early May through Labor Day were down 9 percent compared to summer 2004, according to Exhibitor Relations. Factoring in higher ticket prices, attendance was off 12 percent.

“Transporter 2” had a record debut for the Labor Day weekend, typically a slow time at theaters, beating the previous high of $18.4 million held by “Jeepers Creepers 2” in 2003.

The sequel features Statham’s character on break from his high-octane gig as an ace deliveryman of illicit goods, but forced back into action when the boy he chauffeurs is kidnapped by terrorists.

“People love the character,” said Bert Livingston, a distribution executive for 20th Century Fox. “It’s escapism, and with all the tragedy going on in New Orleans, I think people want to get away and lose themselves for an hour and a half.”