The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was the surprise winner of this weekend's box office derby with an estimated total of $21.7 million.  The sci-fi comedy based on the cult novels (and BBC radio plays) by the late Douglas Adams easily beat down the competition with a $6,928 per screen average. 

The success of The Hitchhiker's Guide is good news for pop culture retailers, since in addition to Douglas Adams' novels, NECA is producing a series of toys and prop replicas (see 'NECA Line Based on Cult Hits') based on the new film, which demonstrated the potential to inspire cult-like devotion.  The strong showing for The Hitchhiker's Guide could also indicate that audiences are ready to turn out in big numbers for the many pop culture genre film (science fiction/fantasy/superhero) blockbusters of the coming summer movie season (Star Wars: Episode III, War of the Worlds, Batman Begins, Fantastic Four).

The big loser this weekend was Sony's XXX sequel, which was expected to dominate, but came in a disappointing third ($13.7 million) demonstrating convincingly that Ice Cube does not have the same appeal as Vin Diesel.  Kung Fu Hustle dropped from fifth to seventh place taking in $3.8 million and running its cumulative to $13.1 million. 

Sin City dropped from seventh to eleventh earning just over $2 million and bringing its total to $70.6 million -- it should finish around $75 million.