"Vampires? Why did it have to be Vampires?" That's the question Ben Affleck's fans are asking tonight. His directorial debut Gone Baby Gone got attacked by a mean group of bloodsuckers playing to the Halloween crowd. Josh Hartnett's latest film 30 Days of Night, an adaptation of a graphic novel, kicked and killed its way into that number one spot on the box office charts this weekend. It nabbed a soft $16 million, putting both Affleck and Tyler Perry in their place. It should come as now real surprise. Its that time of year.
Perry didn't fare so badly, though. His latest directorial effort Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? only suffered a one spot drop, landing in second place with $12.1 million. That brings its cumulative gross to $38.8 million. The guy is an unstoppable powerhouse who has now bested some of the major heavyweights in the business. His next film Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns will no doubt bring the bills, also. It is perhaps his most popular stage play to date. It should be a hoot.
Gone Baby Gone opened in fifth place with $6 million. Which is actually a pretty decent haul, considering that it opened in a thousand theaters less than most of the films in the top ten. Ben Affleck has been getting a critical pep talk, and some are considering this a true Oscar contender. David Koechner's comedy The Comebacks was hot on Ben's trail, opening with $5.8 million in sixth place. That is a pretty poor take for this kind of spoof, which are known for doing pretty solid business.
Two Oscar contenders also opened this week. The Jake Gyllenhaal/Reese Witherspoon drama Rendition sailed into the number nine spot with $4.1 million. And the Halle Berry film Things We Lost in the Fire barely made a peep, creeping into that coveted 15th spot on the charts with $1.6 million. These films will have to do some heavy campaigning to be remembered at award time. Maybe the studios will rethink their policy on screeners in order to get these less than stellar openers into the hands of voters.
Next week is going to be a tough week for the vampires of 30 Days of Night. The unstoppable Saw franchise will be bowing its fourth installment to a crowd of devoted fans. It should top out with a handful of cash. Dan in Real Life will also be making its first appearance next weekend, but there's no way Steve Carell can defeat Jigsaw. That would be unthinkable. Though, stranger things have happened.
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