Box Office: Angels Soars With Saintly Debut

November 5 -- Charlie's Angels gave that ubiquitous "girls kick butt" catchphrase a little more longevity this weekend, sparring its way to a smashing $40.5 million debut.

The '70s TV show-turned-blockbuster — starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu — leapt past familial laffer Meet the Parents, which had held on to No. 1 for an amazing four weeks straight, according to box-office estimates released Sunday.

Meanwhile, Robert Redford's The Legend of Bagger Vance was knocked off the links by Angels' stellar turn, earning a respectable $12 million to snag third place on its first weekend out.

Barrymore's Flower Films company produced Charlie's Angels. The red-headed star's production partner, Nancy Juvonen, who had hoped for an opening in the $20 million neighborhood, told Reuters her reaction was "put-your-hand-on-your-forehead shock and relief." She added that Barrymore, in Tokyo for the film's premiere there, was "thrilled" with the results.

Charlie's Angels, which had a $92 million production price tag, surpasses Adam Sandler's 1998 bayou comedy The Waterboy — which earned $39.4 million over its opening weekend — to become the No. 2 November bow, according to numbers from box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Toy Story 2 holds the record with a $57 million gross in its first wide weekend last November.

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Vance Begs for Second ChanceHovering well below Angels' $40 million-plus take-home pay was Robert Redford's latest directorial effort, The Legend of Bagger Vance. The golf fable, featuring box-office hotties Will Smith and Matt Damon, earned a "good, not great" $12 million, DreamWorks' Jim Tharp said.

Redford shouldn't fret just yet; his 1997 drama, The Horse Whisperer, bowed with $13.7 million but went on to gross a healthy $75 million. Another Redford-helmed weeper starring a couple of young Hollywood hunks, 1992's A River Runs Through It, raised a total of $43.4 million despite grossing just $5 million in its best weekend.