By Sarah Sluis
In an impressive 1-2-3 finish, the top three films this weekend each made around $30 million. G-Force, a spy caper cast with guinea pigs, took the #1 spot with $32.5 million, luring viewers with its blend of "photorealistic CGI" and live action. In its second weekend, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince dropped 61%. While 50%-plus drops are normal for fan-based films, it's surprising that a movie with a two-week cumulative gross of $221 million didn't take the top spot for a second weekend. Still, with a $30 million second weekend, lucrative international box office, and the last book split into two films, Harry Potter has turned out to be the franchise that keeps on giving.
The Ugly Truth, a romantic comedy that hews closely to the genre's tired conventions, but "has just enough laughs to squeak by," rounded out the top three with a $27 million opening. Written by Legally Blonde's Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, the female-oriented film has drawn in its fair share of moviegoers, but has left critics crying misogyny, and craving a more original take on the romcom formula.
Horror flick Orphan gathered up $12.7 million in tickets in its debut weekend. "Gimmicky though effective," Orphan passes up the chance to comment on "the crack-up of an American family [that] lies right under the filmmakers' noses," according to our critic Kirk Honeycutt, but for fans of the demonic child genre (and that's not the wizard-with-a-lightning-scar kind)," this "dumb" film is perfect for summer moviegoing.
Right below the top ten, Fox Searchlight's (500) Days of Summer expanded from 27 to 85 theatres and brought in $1.6 million, a 95% increase from last week. For a slowly expanding specialty release like (500) Days, this performance is in the sweet spot. IFC's In the Loop brought in $25,000 per theatre in 8 locations, making the "riotous satire" a film to watch in weeks to come.
This Friday, Judd Apatow-directed Funny People and Aliens in the Attic will open wide, along with specialty titles Thirst, The Cove, and Adam.
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