May 17, 2002 By Lou Gaul Calkins Media Film Critic 3 min read

The new motion pictures opening today at a theater near you are: – “About a Boy”: A happily self-centered London single (Hugh Grant of “Notting Hill”) pretends to have a son so that he can meet more women and then finds himself becoming attached to a 12-year-old boy who comes into the man’s shallow life.

Toni Collette (“The Sixth Sense”) and Rachel Weisz (“The Mummy”) co-star in the PG-13 comedy, based on the novel by Nick Hornby.

Filmmaking brothers Paul and Chris Weitz (“American Pie”) co-directed.

– “The Bread, My Sweet”: A wealthy Italian-American corporate raider (Scott Baio of TV’s “Happy Days”) operates a Pittsburgh bakery to keep his two brothers employed and enjoys a loving relationship with a surrogate mother (Rosemary Prinz of TV’s “As the World Turns”).

After discovering the senior citizen has only six months to live, the young man promises to help make the old woman’s dying dream come true by marrying her strong-willed daughter (Kristin Minter of TV’s “ER”).

Melissa Martin made her directing debut with the slice-of-life tale.

– “The Mystic Masseur”: During this PG-rated adaptation of V.S. Naipaul’s 1957 novel, an Indian expatriate (Assif Mandvi) living in Trinidad goes from being a faith healer to a politician and then stumbles due to an ambitious streak.

Ismail Merchant, best known for producing art-house favorites such as “Howards End” and “A Room With a View,” directed.

– “The Project Greenlight Movie: Stolen Summer”: An 8-year-old Catholic boy (Adi Stein) and a 7-year-old Jewish boy (Mike Weinberg) embark on an adventure to make sense of life and religion in the summer of 1976.

The making of this PG-rated picture was chronicled on the HBO documentary series “Project Greenlight.”

The project followed director Pete Jones after he won a contest that was sponsored by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Miramax Films.

They offered the filmmaker with the best screenplay $1 million to turn it into a motion picture.

– “The Salton Sea”: A meek trumpet player (Val Kilmer of “Tombstone”) witnesses the brutal murder of his wife by some drug-addicted thugs and then alters his appearance in order to blend into their world and avenge her death.

Vincent D’Onofrio (“The Cell”), Adam Goldberg (“Saving Private Ryan”), Anthony LaPaglia (“Lantana”) and Deborah Kara Unger (“Crash”) co-star in the hard-edged R-rated melodrama. D.J. Caruso directed.

– “Scratch”: The lives of pioneering hip-hop DJs are explored during this unrated documentary.

The documentary features talents such as Qbert, Steve Dee, DJ Craze, The Beat Junkies and Afrika Banbaataa. Doug Pray (“Hype!”) directed.

– “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones”: Anakin Skywalker (20-year-old Canadian actor Hayden Christensen) has grown up and is learning the ways of the Force from Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor).

He also falls in love with Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman), whom he has been assigned to protect from assassination attempts.

Writer-director George Lucas has given the $140 million follow-up a darker edge, especially during a scene in which Anakin avenges the murder of his mother.

Samuel L. Jackson (“Shaft”) and Yoda (voice by Frank Oz) return as Jedi Knights in the PG-rated epic.

At the buck$ office

The total grosses of the next nine films combined didn’t amount to half of what “Spider-Man” earned in its record-setting debut.2. “Unfaithful” ($14.2 million)

3. “The New Guy” ($9.5 million)

4. “The Scorpion King” ($4.4 million)

5. “Changing Lanes” ($3.5 million)

6. “Murder by Numbers” ($2.3 million)

7. “The Rookie” ($2.1 million)

8. “Panic Room” ($1.5 million)

9. “Ice Age” ($1.4 million)

10. “Life or Something Like It” ($1.3 million)