BOX OFFICE BEAT DOWN: The Proposal Engages Audiences with $34 Million in First Place

Weekend Box Office:

1) The Proposal $34.1 million
2) The Hangover $26.8 million
3) Up $21.3 million
4) Year One $20.2 million
5) The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 $11.3 million
6) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $7.3 million
7) Star Trek $4.7
8) Land of the Lost $3.9 million
9) Imagine That $3.1 million
10) Terminator Salvation $3 million

Walt Disney's The Proposal got on its knees this weekend and asked: Will you see me? Audiences said "yes", turning Anne Fletcher's deportation rom-com into the number one film of the weekend. Starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as a pair of mismatched romantics trying to save their jobs, the hilarious comedy pulled in $34.1 million. Not bad considering it opened on Father's Day weekend, a time usually reserved for macho action films and sci-fi extravaganzas.

Todd Phillip's surprise hit of the summer The Hangover fell to second place in its third week of release. The R rated comedy, which stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zack Galifianakis as three friends searching for their groom the day after the bachelor party, held court with another hefty $26.8 million, thus pushing its cumulative take to $152.9 million. Don't be surprised when it climbs past $200 million within the coming months.

Staying steady in third place was Disney/Pixar's Up, which pulled in another $21.3 million. The film, which follows a 78-year-old balloon salesman named Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) as he fulfils his lifelong dream of visiting the wilds of South America, has now pushed past the $200 million mark, taking in $224.1 million in just four weeks. Pretty impressive, as it is now the second highest grossing film of the year right behind Star Trek, which has now earned $239.4 million after seven weeks in release. Up has become the number six most successful Pixar film of all time, finally surpassing last year's WALL-E.

This week's only other major new release didn't make much noise. Harold Ramis' biblical comedy Year One took a nosedive, crashing and burning in the number four spot with just $20.2 million to its name. Despite the star power of Jack Black and Michael Cera, families simply didn't want to spend time in Gomorra. Woody Allen's latest comedy Whatever Works, which stars Larry David as a curmudgeon who enters into a relationship with an eighteen year old hillbilly, had the highest per screen average of the weekend, taking in $281,000 on just nine screens. The zombie film Dead Snow pulled in $6,000 playing on just one screen.

None of the above mentioned films stand a chance next weekend as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen finally opens. The film is tracking higher than The Dark Knight did before its initial release, but only time will tell if its worthy of beating that powerful Bat-epic at the box office.