According to The Hollywood Reporter, what was thought by many in the industry to be a tight horse race between the two films debuting in wide release at the boxoffice this weekend turned into a rout instead. A sci-fi adventure-comedy about interplanetary hitchhiking, Buena Vista's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, sizzled in the top spot with an estimated $21.7 million, while a high-octane action-thriller, Sony's XXX: State of the Union, fizzled in third place with an estimated $13.7 million.

The opening for Hitchhiker, from Spyglass Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures, proved to be a company best in April for the Disney distribution arm and also was the highest-grossing debut for a PG-rated film for the month. Buena Vista's Holes previously held both those titles with $16.3 million. Martin Freeman stars in the Garth Jennings-directed Hitchhiker, which was based on the popular novel by Douglas Adams. The XXX sequel's dour debut -- relative to its industry-estimated $87 million cost -- was a far cry from the stellar $44.5 million opening of the original Revolution Studios picture, which starred Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson. Ice Cube and Jackson star in the PG-13 sequel, which was helmed by Lee Tamahori.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was released April 29th, 2005 and stars Bill Bailey, Martin Freeman, Yasiin Bey, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, Warwick Davis, Anna Chancellor. The film is directed by Garth Jennings.

XXX: State of the Union was released April 29th, 2005 and stars Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Peter Strauss, Xzibit, Michael Roof, Sunny Mabrey. The film is directed by Lee Tamahori.