BOND IS BACK WITH BERRY

Die Another Day, the 20th James Bond flick, took in $47 million over opening weekend, the best debut ever for the franchise.

The Bond movie bumped last weekend's top film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, to No. 2. In its second weekend, Chamber of Secrets grossed $42.4 million, pushing its 10-day total to $148.5 million.

Friday After Next, the third in Ice Cube's series of ``Friday'' urban comedies, opened in third place with $13.1 million. Kevin Kline's The Emperor's Club, about a prep-school teacher's relationship with a troublesome teen, debuted at No. 7 with $4.1 million.

Both Friday After Next and The Emperor's Club played in far fewer theaters than the Bond or Potter movies.

Die Another Day beat the opening gross of the last Bond movie, The World Is Not Enough, the franchise's previous best debut at $35.5 million.

The addition of Halle Berry as Bond's formidable American ally and love interest, plus a cameo and theme song by Madonna, helped reinvigorate the 40-year-old James Bond franchise.

Chamber of Secrets had a slower second weekend than its predecessor, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. But the second weekend for Sorcerer's Stone came over Thanksgiving, when movie-going is brisker.

Meanwhile, My Big Fat Greek Wedding crossed the $200 million mark last week, with Chamber of Secrets ready to follow suit quickly. That will make six $200 million movies so far this year, tying last year's record number, with one more likely candidate, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, coming next month.

The Santa Clause 2 came in fourth with $10.3 million, while 8 Mile rounded out the top five with an $8.7 million take.