Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Weekend Box Office -- In The Still(er) Of The Night

Every day from last Friday to next Monday is a big day for the movies, with so many kids out of school and so many families looking for ways to spend time together without having to talk. Ben Stiller led the way with the family-friendly "Night At The Museum," which grossed more than $30 million. Its studio Fox said this was much better than the $20 million+ they'd beeen counting on, but that seems coy to me. $20 million for a Ben Stiller movie loaded with splashy special effects, adult appeal actors like Luke Wilson and Robin Williams and a dinosaur skeleton that comes to life? His recent openings include "Along Came Polly" at $27 million, "Starsky & Hutch" at $28 million, "Dodgeball" at $30 million, "Meet The Fockers" at $46 million and the animated film "Madagascar" at $47 million. I can't imagine they really expected any LESS than $30 million. "The Good Shepherd" and "We Are Marshall" will have to be discovered on DVD for most people. It flopped. "Eragon," as expected, had terrible word of mouth.Here's the top 10 for the weekend, but keep in mind that Sunday, Christmas Eve, is usually deadly quiet at the box office while Christmas Day, Monday, should be strong.

1. Night At The Museum -- $30.8 million
2. The Pursuit Of Happyness -- $15 million ($53.3 million total)
3. Rocky Balboa -- $12.5 million ($21.8 million)
4. The Good Shepherd -- $10 million
5. Charlotte's Web -- $8 million ($26.5 million total)
6. Eragon -- $7.15 million ($37.6 million total)
7. We Are Marshall -- $6.6 million
8. Happy Feet -- $5.1 million ($159.1 million total)
9. The Holiday -- $5 million ($35 million total)
10. The Nativity Story -- $4.65 million ($32.5 million total)

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