Weekend Box Office
1) Where the Wild Things Are - $34.2 million
2) Law Abiding Citizen - $21.2 million
3) Paranormal Activity - $20.1 million
4) Couples Retreat - $17.9 million
5) The Stepfather - $12.3 million
6) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - $8.1 million
7) Zombieland - $7.8 million
8) Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D - $3.01 million
9) Surrogates - $1.92 million
10) The Invention of Lying - $1.90 million
It was certainly a wild weekend at the box office this weekend which saw the triumphs of a Maurice Sendak adaptation and the hottest horror film of the 21st Century. Where the Wild Things Are lead the way at the box office this weekend, winning in impressive fashion with an estimated $34.2 million opening weekend gross. The film received a hefty 3,735-theater rollout and scored a solid $8,693 per-screen average. The film did have some competition though, in a weekend where the top five films reached eight-figure grosses.
Director F. Gary Gray's new film Law Abiding Citizen took second place with $21.2 million. The film debuted in 2,890 theaters and held a solid $7,353 per-screen average. However, even though it came in third place, the real story this weekend is the continued impressive run Paranormal Activity. The film took in a massive $20.1 million in third place, after expanding to 600 more theaters for a total theater count of 760. The film easily had the highest per-screen average of any film out this weekend, with a massive $26,530 take. It was said that the film is set to expand to more than 2,000 theaters this coming weekend, so we'll have to see if movie fans continue to embrace this $15,000 horror film as it expands even wider. The only other notable new release, The Stepfather, took fifth place with a solid $12.3 million take from 2,734 theaters with a middling $4,499 per-screen average.
Four films opened in limited release this weekend, but none of them managed to make much of a dent at the box office. New York, I Love You took in an estimated $372,000 from 119 theaters for a below-average $3,126 per-screen average, while Black Dynamite failed to impress with $141,000 from 70 theaters and an even-worse $2,014 per-screen average. The Maid fared the best in the group with $18,400 from just one theater but The Ministers was the worst of the lot with $2,160 from just two theaters for a horrible $1,080 per-screen average.
Next weekend brings us four new films in wide release and three films in limited release, not to mention the even-wider expansion of Paranormal Activity to possibly 2,000 theaters. Saw VI and Astro Boy will get the widest releases followed by Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant and Amelia. Motherhood and Ong Bak 2: The Beginning will also open in limited release, along with the re-release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D. Be sure to check back here in another seven days to see who comes out on top of this busy cinematic weekend.