'Avengers' dominates the box office, with a second nine-digit weekend

Dropping exactly by half, The Avengers led the pack for the second weekend in a row with an astounding $103.1 million. The super-superhero picture beat The Dark Knight for the second-week hold record for films that opened about $120 million. Returns from overseas brought The Avengers' worldwide total above $1 billion. As if there wasn't enough champagne popping already, this marks Disney's fifth billion-dollar movie. No other studio has cracked the billion-dollar mark more than twice. Disney's $4 billion purchase of Marvel in 2009 isn't looking so outlandish now, is it? Plus, new Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man films are already on Disney's schedule, and I have a feeling a decade from now audiences will be watching The Avengers 3.

In second place, Dark Shadows underperformed to finish with $28.8 million. Most expected the gothic comedy would earn in the $30 million range, so it's possible the Tim Burton-directed film was hurt by the overwhelming success of The Avengers. Also, the adaptation of a '60s soap opera, a cult hit, may have resonated most with niche audiences--more like Burton's Sweeney Todd (which opened to just $9 million) than his crowd-pleasing, family-oriented Alice in Wonderland (one of Disney's $1 billion+ films). The second week in May is also considered a less-than-ideal time to open a film, yet another reason for Dark Shadows' lackluster weekend.

Think Like a Man, The Hunger Games and The Lucky One, which comprised the rest of the top five, all dropped under 25% while earning between $4-6 million, picking up the rest of the non-Avengers crowd.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel cracked the top ten with $2.6 million while playing in just 178 locations, enough to dub the film an indie success.

Lionsgate/Pantelion's Hispanic and Mother's Day-targeted Girl in Progress landed in tenth place with $1.6 million. With just over 300 locations, the coming-of-age picture had a strong per-screen average of $4,000. This is the kind of middle-of-the-road movie that could die out next week or have strong hold through word-of-mouth--but with a B+ CinemaScore, it doesn't sound like audiences are giving it a strong endorsement.

The Weinstein Co. decided to give its Oscar-winner, The Artist, one final push timed to Mother's Day. Moving from 41 to 751 theatres, it earned $161,000, its best weekend in a month. The per-screen average of $214, however, was the worst of all movies reported at Boxofficemojo.com.

On Wednesday, Sacha Baron Cohen plays a ridiculously awful leader in The Dictator. Friday brings aliens 'n big boats picture Battleship, which will go against the comedy What to Expect When You're Expecting.

'Twilight' wows fans, 'Last Airbender' disappoints

By Sarah Sluis

Going into the Fourth of July weekend, the two wide releases have already made their debut. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse earned $68.5 million on Wednesday, including $30 million from midnight screenings. In its

second day, it earned $24.2 million, playing on a an astonishing 4,468 screens. With legions of dedicated fans packing in to see the movie in its first few days, this movie may start to fall during the weekend, and will probably drop even more heavily next weekend. But the Wednesday release was smart: it caught its dedicated fans before they were dragged to family obligations or other get-togethers. Though the Twilight series counts not just young women, but also many moms among its fans, its fanbase is just that: a subset of women, with a few stray male fans. As critic Maitland McDonagh put it, "You either surrender to Stephenie Meyer's swoony tale of forbidden love, squeaky-clean teen style, or you just don't get it." Those that don't get it are unlikely to change their mind--but hey, the movie's already earned over $100 million worldwide.

The Last Airbender rolled out Thursday in 3,169 locations, earning $3 million in midnight screenings for a total of $16.9 million its opening day. But fans are not happy. The Twitter-sphere includes many slams

regarding the changes that were made from the popular Nickelodeon series, and there was even a protest because the Asian roles were cast with white actors. Critics gave the movie a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and for once critics and fans agree. Daniel Eagan speculated that "fans of the cartoon series may overlook The Last Airbender's flaw," but in fact they couldn't. His statement that the "slow and ponderous" movie is just a "watered-down Narnia with Lord of the Rings pretensions." hit the mark. It's frustrating for fans of director M. Night Shyamalan, too. Will he ever be able to give us another Sixth Sense? The movie could earn in the $50 million range over the long weekend, or it could drop even farther through the weekend due to negative word-of-mouth.

Film-buff audiences will delight in Great Directors (NYC), which "makes for a satisfying cinematic buffet," according to critic Doris Toumarkine. The documentary features interviews with some of cinema's greats, with everyone from David Lynch to Bernardo Bertolucci.

On the other end of the spectrum, the much-delayed Love Ranch (11 theatres), which dealt with Capitol Films' bankruptcy and other legal issues, turns out to have not been rescued for a reason. Starring Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci, "It's all a confused mess, flopping from faux-hard-boiled attitude to botched sentimentality in the blink of an eye," lamented critic Chris Barsanti. The movie also got a head start, opening on Wednesday, though figures have not yet been released.

After the long weekend, Screener will be back on Tuesday, ready to dissect the results of one of the bigger box office weekends of the year.

Victory for 'Toy Story 3' with a nine-digit weekend

By Sarah Sluis

Drawing in a remarkably diverse audience, Pixar's eleventh feature, Toy Story 3, brought in $109 million over the weekend, the highest opening weekend ever for a Pixar movie. What's more interesting, though, is

that attendance was comparable to Finding Nemo, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and The Incredibles. What accounted for the millions more earned by Toy Story 3? Besides the usual culprit, rising ticket prices, the surcharge for 3D stands out. It's estimated that the extra dimension added $20 million to the movie's gross, although that bump falls on the low end for 3D movies. Also in the mix were a large number of adults paying full ticket prices. 46% of the audience was over 25, and not all of them were parents. Toy Story 3 drew in 33% of its audience from non-families, 40% of which came from young adults aged 17-24. With its strong debut and positive word-of-mouth, Toy Story 3 should dominate for the rest of the summer--expect it to be in the top ten for the next two months.

Earning 1/20th of the gross of Toy Story 3, Jonah Hex is the first unqualified flop of the summer box office.

The comic book/western/futuristic movie managed to draw in none of those audiences, and finished with just $5 million, though that was enough to earn it an eighth-place finish. Ouch.

In second place, The Karate Kid earned $29 million in its second weekend. Though the movie dropped 47%, Toy Story 3 proved tough competition. Given its positive reviews and strong opening weekend, the movie should bounce back in coming weeks. By comparison, two other kid-oriented movies in the top ten dropped more than 50%. Marmaduke slumped 55% to $2.6 million, and Shrek Forever After declined 65%, to $5.5 million.

Fox Searchlight's marketing campaign paid off with Cyrus, which earned a breathtaking $45,000 per screen on four screens. The movie will expand into more markets in coming weeks, and should earn at least $10 million if its performance holds up--my conservative estimate. Since the movie debuted on such a small number of screens, it's hard to tell how well it will scale up.

I Am Love, starring Tilda Swinton, made its debut with $15,000 per screen on eight screens. The stylish Italian art film drew in equally suave audiences, and its opening should give it a solid, if not blockbuster, run at the box office.

This Friday, action comedy Knight and Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, will open alongside Grown Ups, a comedy about basketball teammates reuniting in middle age. The cast is led by Adam Sandler.

'Shutter Island' bests 'Cop Out' and 'The Crazies'

By Sarah Sluis

Despite the arrival of fresh competition, Shutter Island dropped less than 50% in its second weekend to hold onto the top spot for the second week in a row, earning $22.2 million. Director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio are enjoying some of the best box office they've had in awhile, along with a $75 million cumulative gross.

Cop Out debuted in second with $18.5 million. The Kevin Smith-directed, humorous tale of two misfit cops opened higher than star Bruce Willis' previous movie, September's Surrogates. For Tracy Morgan of "30 Rock," this was his first headlining role. Unfortunately, our critic Ethan Alter found Morgan's "unpredictability," his "comic energy...at odds with the movie he's been cast in...it's hard to escape the feeling that he's been advised to keep himself in check." As a big fan of his character on "30 Rock," I only hope his next feature, the ensemble piece Death at a Funeral, will fix the problem.

Horror movie remake The Crazies had been building slowly in awareness, and ended up just $2 million short of Cop Out with a $16.5 million total. While many horror movies do the biggest business on Friday, this movie, like many others, peaked on Saturday with a 6% bump from Friday. The poor weather on the East Coast, which had largely cleared up by Saturday (at least in the New York area), may account for the unusually large Saturday bumps across the board. Shutter Island went up 55%, Cop Out 29%, and Avatar 114%.

Avatar astounded for yet another week with a minuscule 13% drop and another $14 million. After months of prodding, including one attempt thwarted by a sold-out show, my own parents finally saw the movie and pronounced the film "stunning." My scientist father was in awe of the 3D technology and apparently sat on the edge of his seat the whole time. Their reception matches the general word-of-mouth that exists for the movie, which has had astounding longevity at the box office. With the Academy Awards next Sunday, the movie will likely see another bump two weeks from now, once the awards tally is in.

The Ghost Writer added 39 locations this weekend and came away with a $20,000 per-location gross, which tipped the movie's cumulative gross over the $1 million mark. A 50% plus drop in per-location earnings is about standard for specialty films, and a $10,000 per location gross next week, combined with an expansion, would rack up millions of dollars for the film.

Sony Picture Classics' A Prophet debuted one week ahead of the Academy Awards, where it is nominated for Best Foreign Film. At nine locations, the prison drama brought in $18,800 per-location for a total of $170,000, a number that will increase in weeks ahead, especially if the movie, regarded as a frontrunner for the win, ends up with an Oscar.

This Friday, Alice in Wonderland will make its 3D and IMAX debut along with a decidedly different cop movie, Brooklyn's Finest.

'Avatar' breaks two out of three all-time box-office records

By Sarah Sluis

This week, Avatar became the highest grossing film worldwide, just days after it broke the all-time overseas record. Only the domestic all-time record, held by Titanic, is left to fall. And even this film won't be the end of Avatar mania. Given that Cameron has already mentioned he has mapped out sequels for the movie, it came as little surprise when Slash film revealed that Avatar 2 is in the works, with technical crew members signing three to five-year contracts for the second film.

But what to make of Avatar's success? It has the record, but, to many, it doesn't reach quite the same phenomenon level of Titanic, which prompted magazine covers and excited chatter everywhere I went (perhaps the fact that I was a teen girl when Titanic came out contributes to my perception of the film as huge).

For those trying to contextualize just how big of a deal Avatar is, the all-time domestic box-office grosses, adjusted for inflation, help bring Avatar down from Pandora and back to Earth. On this list, the movie has a higher mountain to climb--it's ranked twenty-seventh. Titanic only made it to number six. Most of the films in the top ten are household names and beloved films among many Americans--Gone With the Wind, Star Wars, The Sound of Music, E.T., Jaws, and The Exorcist.

Part of the reason Avatar was able to break so many records so quickly was due to the added income of 3D and IMAX tickets. With enough people paying a 20-30% premium on tickets, the movie was able rack up more money with fewer ticket sales. It also means that at this point, fewer people have seen the movie than many other record-breakers on the list. That stands to change when Avatar receives another boost at the Oscars. With ten films up for Best Picture, it will be a shock if Avatar's not among them.

Having seen, and loved, Avatar in 3D, I'm still a little turned off when I see the images on a television screen or a still online. The look just doesn't seem right to me. Avatar is a uniquely theatrical movie at a time when fewer and fewer people are actually seeing a movie in theatres. It's just a matter of time before 3D-capable television screens help bridge the gap between theatrical and home entertainment, but in the meantime Avatar brings us back to a time when seeing movies on a big screen with few distractions was a special, impossible-to-replicate experience.

'Avatar' passes 'Legion' and 'Tooth Fairy'

By Sarah Sluis

Avatar grabbed the top spot domestically once again, dipping 16% to gross $36 million. Overseas, it did even better, breaking the record set by Titanic. Its cumulative gross of $1.288 billion abroad bested that of Titanic, which finished at $1.242 billion abroad. Titanic still holds the record for domestic box office and worldwide box office (the sum of domestic and abroad). Domestically, no movie has been number one for six weeks in a row since Titanic. Now, I just want to know what director James Cameron's next project is--will Avatar 2 come to fruition?

Legion opened in second place with $18.2 million, half the gross of Avatar. Demon-angels and creepy grandmas and ice cream men just never get old. Last year, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, another male-skewing horror/sci-fi mix, opened at $20 million, so the two did roughly similar business.

Tooth Fairy opened two spots lower at number four with $14.5 million, significantly lower than Dwayne Johnson's past two starrers. 2007's The Game Plan, which had a similar set-up that played on Johnson's star persona, opened at $22.9 million. Last year's Race to Witch Mountain opened at $24.4 million. The kid-oriented competition wasn't significant either: The Spy Next Door fell to number ten this week with a $4.7 million gross, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel finished its fifth week at the box office in eighth place with $6.5 million. The Rock may be losing his kid base. Good thing his next film, The Other Guys, appears to be an older-skewing comedy.

Extraordinary Measures opened at number seven with $7 million. The Blind Side-esque movie played well in smaller cities and underperformed in big ones, giving distributor CBS Films reason to believe this movie will have strong staying power in less urban areas, where moviegoers often take awhile to catch up with the latest releases.

This Friday romcom When in Rome opens alongside Edge of Darkness, a crime thriller starring Mel Gibson.

'Sherlock Holmes' no match for 'Avatar'

By Sarah Sluis

A record-breaking $278 million week at the box office was led by Avatar, with the rest of the top ten following closely behind with strong debut and holdover performances. The sci-fi spectacle's second week was just as strong as its first, dropping a minuscule 2% from its opening weekend to earn $75 million. The movie posted its highest one-day gross the day after Christmas, when it earned $28.5 million, compared to the smaller $26.7 million sum it brought in its opening day. Unlike most other tentpoles, which are adaptations of successful books, series, or comic books, Avatar had to tough through a lower opening and wait for word-of-mouth to build up. In light of Avatar's success, perhaps other filmmakers besides James Cameron will be able to follow in his wake and develop tentpoles based on original ideas. Fox, however, won't have to take on much risk if it moves forward with a sequel or two: Cameron has mentioned that he has already mapped out a multi-movie arc for his characters.

Coming in second place for the weekend, action-detective movie Sherlock Holmes beat Avatar its opening day, Christmas, but dropped off over the weekend. The movie earned $65.3 million, about $10 million under Avatar's gross. While the movie's hero and his iconic pipe-smoking habit is more familiar to audiences, Avatar delivers on its premise much more than Sherlock Holmes, which lost points with me for its overuse of action movie conventions.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel came in third with $50.2 million. Because it opened on Wednesday, its total gross is already $77 million, which is far outpacing the first movie in the series, which opened to $44 million.

Writer/director Nancy Meyers' latest installment in the romantic comedy department, It's Complicated, opened fourth with $22.1 million. Her last two films, The Holiday and Something's Gotta Give, both opened in the teens, so this marks her best opening since 2000's What Women Want, which debuted at $33 million.

Of the films placing fifth to tenth, all were returning films, and three of the five increased their grosses from the previous week. Up in the Air went from 175 to 1,895 theatres and earned $11.75 million, a 266% increase from the previous week. The Blind Side rose 17% to $11.73 million even as it shed over 600 theatres, further cementing its status as a surprise word-of-mouth hit. Nine, in eighth place, increased 2000% to $5.5 million as it went from four theatres to 1,412 theatres. In tenth place, Invictus, which only added 35 theatres to its 2,160-theatre release, inched up 4% from the previous week. The remaining two films in the top ten, The Princess and the Frog and Did You Hear About the Morgans?, dropped in the 20-30% range. In particular, The Princess and the Frog may be hurting from competition with the Chipmunks and Chipettes.

Now that all the big films of 2009 have been released, the first month of 2010 will measure their longevity. Competition from new releases will be minimal, but for awards films, it's a long haul to the Oscar ceremony, which was moved from February to March this year.

'The Princess and the Frog' to charm its way to box-office crown

By Sarah Sluis

South Africa and the Bayou will take center stage this weekend, as Invictus and The Princess and the Frog roll out in wide release.

The Princess and the Frog (3,434 theatres) is the Disney machine at its nostalgic finest--which includes incredible attention to detail, especially when it comes to possible revenue streams. For the past two and a half weeks, the movie has racked up $2.7 million by creating a full-fledged event involving character meet-and-greets, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and the opportunity to stock up on Princess-related merchandising--all for $50 per head. Only Disney could pull together its filmmaking, theme park, and merchandising experience so well. The movie itself should make a killing, especially since many of those who grew up on Beauty and the Beast are now parents themselves. It's expected to open around $25 million, but the strength of its reviews, including an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, could give families that extra push to see it in theatres.

Invictus (2,125 theatres) is expected to open modestly but keep up its pace for many weeks ahead. Positive reviews, along with a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, should reward the historical drama at the box office as well as the Oscars, though the first category, in this case, is a little more tricky. Our critic Daniel Eagan praised the film as "one of the most mature and satisfying releases of the year," but cautioned that its "challenging subject matter and a crowded holiday marketplace" could see it end up more like Million Dollar Baby than Gran Torino.

The Lovely Bones will roll out in three theatres before expanding over Christmas and then again in mid-January. I posted my scathing assessment of the film yesterday, joining the critical chorus of dissent. According to executive editor Kevin Lally, director Peter Jackson's "expensive production and dazzling visual effects aren't the ideal fit for [author Alice] Sebold's delicate, poignant tale," and the "admittedly impressive but overdone fantasy panoramas" take away the "heart and soul" of the novel. While many of those who read the book will turn out for the movie, they will rank among the most disappointed. By delaying a wide open until early January, however, the movie may be able to take advantage of being a film of its relative quality amidst the January slush.

Fashion designer-turned-director Tom Ford makes his debut with A Single Man, a quiet, expressive film about mourning. Colin Firth plays a closeted gay professor left alone when his partner dies in a car accident. With no one to mourn with, and few understanding the depth of his despair, he goes through a defining day of odd encounters and personal evaluation. Ford's presence is seen in the attentive costuming, changing color palette, and set design, which manages to add something new to the way most movies portray the 1960s (a glimpse of some black-wearing 60s college-age Goths, for example). The movie opens in nine theatres and should set audiences abuzz.

On Monday, The Princess and the Frog will know the expanse of her reign, Invictus will battle for opening weekend dollars, and holdovers The Blind Side and New Moon will prepare for a dip after three weeks at the top.

'The Blind Side' goes to #1 its third time around

By Sarah Sluis

Borrowing the ascendancy story in its plot, The Blind Side made an unusual jump to #1 in its third week at the box office, earning $20.4 million. Uplifting and family-friendly, the story of a Christian Southerner who

took in a lost soul and turned him into an NFL superstar is the

heartland special, with a broader audience than New Moon. The teenage romance and The Blind Side have been coming in at 1-2 since the week before Thanksgiving, but the heavy 63% drop suffered by New Moon allowed the family-friendly drama to rise to the top. The movie's positive reception has drawn attention to Sandra Bullock, who has been discussed as an awards contender for Best Actress.

Among new movies, Brothers placed strongest. Debuting at #3 with $9.7 million, the war drama/romance received positive, but not glowing reviews. For a film trying to place itself within the critical bracket, it may have been hurt by failing to receive much "must-see in 2009" interest.

Up in the Air, which has received that "must-see" buzz, opened in just 15 locations and went on to earn $1.1 million, an auspicious start for a movie that will open wide over Christmas. I put it in the category of films that families of adults would enjoy together, or a couple of friends, but it will have a lot of competition to contend with in that category, from populist actioner Sherlock Holmes to adult romance It's Complicated.

Miramax's final release as a standalone company, Everybody's Fine, earned $4 million and the last spot in the top ten. The movie's lackluster performance can be attributed to mixed reviews and the state of its distributor--most of the staff has been laid off and are perhaps not so willing to declare disingenuously protest that "Everything's fine."

Of the new genre movies, Armored fared well, earning $6.6 million with its story of armored truck drivers who dip into their cargo. Transylmania, however, fared far, far worse. It earned $272 per location in its 1,000-screen debut, likely angering exhibitors who gave up screens that could have turned a much bigger profit. Hopefully the ticket-buyers bought popcorn.

Most of the returning films had a difficult time maintaining their audiences in the wake of so many new films, dropping 50-60%. Precious fell out of the top ten, falling 67% to $2.3 million in its third week in the 600-theatre range. Will expansion be the answer to maintaining box office?

This Friday, The Princess and the Frog will expand to wide release. The 2D film has been making a killing at the box office in limited release. This past weekend it added another $744,000 to its coffers from just two locations. It will be joined by Clint Eastwood's latest, Invictus, as well as Peter Jackson's literary adaptation The Lovely Bones. To round things out, the critically lauded A Single Man will roll out in seven theatres nationwide.

'New Moon' and 'Blind Side' gobble up a second helping

By Sarah Sluis

For the second week in a row, The Twilight Saga: New Moon took the top spot at the box office. Through the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, it earned $65.9 million, bringing its total gross to $230 million. The two-week total exceeds that of the entire run of the first Twilight movie, which never passed the $200 million mark. The blockbuster success of a franchise targeted almost exclusively to young teen girls should change the film landscape for years to come. Studios should be scurrying to replicate its success, especially given the comparative lack of female-driven blockbusters (Sex and the City and the slightly broader Mamma Mia! notwithstanding)

In second place, The Blind Side grabbed $40 million over the holiday weekend and even beat New Moon on Thanksgiving day because of its broader, family appeal. Many have compared the movie to Precious, but its heartwarming flavor is more reminiscent of last year's Christmas hit Marley & Me.

Old Dogs had a softer Thanksgiving open than a similar Disney comedy, Wild Hogs, opening at $24 million to Wild Hogs' $40 million. The first movie opened in a less competitive March timeslot, making the movie a bit of a scheduling victim, lost among the more appealing side dishes. The other male-oriented film, Ninja Assassin, opened two spots lower at $13.1 million.

As the holiday season kicks into high gear, A Christmas Carol was there to reap the seasonal cheer. The performance-capture tale went up 30% from last week, and 80% including the five-day weekend.

On the horizon, The Princess and the Frog had a promising debut in limited release, bringing in $1.1 million from just two screens thanks to high ticket prices because of a tie-in to character meet-and-greets and behind-the-scenes looks at the movie. When it opens wide on December 11th, girls who have grown up on the Disney "Princesses" merchandising line will have a chance to add another heroine to their princess collection.

Fantastic Mr. Fox, a rather different sort of children's movie, brought in $9.4 million over the five-day weekend. A quarter of the audience was under 19, suggesting the movie has greater appeal among adults and Wes Anderson fans.

The bleak The Road opened in the last spot in the top ten, earning $2 million from 111 theatres. Delayed for over a year, the movie has finally seen the light...but not much green. Unlike the last Cormac McCarthy book to be made into a movie, No Country For Old Men, this one will do considerably lighter business.

The next few weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's will see a whole slate of quality, Academy-worthy films released and crowd-pleasing blockbusters (I can vouch for Up in the Air, but I'm still waiting to see Avatar like everyone else). Time to ring in the holiday season with some popcorn and egg nog.

'Precious' gold at the box office

By Sarah Sluis

The weekend was one for the record books. Opening in 18 locations, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire earned an unheard of $100,000 per location. Most strong specialty releases open between $10,000 and $25,000 per location. Last year's indie standout Slumdog Millionaire opened at $36,000 per location at ten engagements, which was considered an unusually high number. How did Precious bring in so much money? Every theatre played the movie between nine and fourteen times each day, devoting more than one screen to the movie. The movie opened in New York, Los Angeles (the two specialty release standards) as well as the Atlanta and Chicago metro areas. Executive producers Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey hail from these two cities, which also have robust African-American populations, so they were able to work off their strong local fan bases. Lionsgate has a huge hit on their hands, but scaling this release will still be tricky and require some deft handling to ride this incredibly strong wave of interest.

The number one film of the weekend was A Christmas Carol, which rang in the holiday season with a $31 million gross. With seven more weekends until Christmas, the movie will have plenty of time to share its Christmas cheer. The movie is also the largest 3D release to date, a welcome sign of exhibitors' progress in digital conversion.

The Men Who Stare at Goats opened at number three with $13.3 million, kicking off the fall and winter of George Clooney, who has two other films opening within the next month and a half (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up in the Air)

The Fourth Kind ($12.5 million) drew in almost twice as many viewers as The Box ($7.8 million). It seems that The Fourth Kind registered as scarier than The Box, which is more of a convoluted thriller. The Fourth Kind also used vrit-type techniques, like hit Paranormal Activity, to tell its story.

In its second weekend, Michael Jackson's This Is It dropped 40% to $14 million. Its domestic and foreign total will easily clear the $60 million paid by Sony, which also has a stake in other Jackson-related material. Plus, the movie will stay in theatres beyond its planned two-week release, which will add to its profits.

After its spectacular wide release two weeks ago, Paranormal Activity settled down and dropped 47% to $8.6 million amidst the horror/sci-fi competition. Through the weekend, the movie's cumulative gross reached $97.4 million, a sure sign it will cross the $100 million mark within the week.

The films in the seventh to tenth spot of the top ten dropped a below-average amount. Couples Retreat dipped just .5%, Law Abiding Citizen fell 16%, and Where the Wild Things Are a slightly larger 28%, and Astro Boy 25%. Each of the films had something different to offer their audience than the new releases, so the lack of competition helps explain their above-average staying power.

This Friday, disaster romp 2012 will blanket the marketplace, while comedy Pirate Radio opens smaller, along with a four-location rollout of Wes Anderson's stop-motion animated Fantastic Mr. Fox.

'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa' earns a roaring $63 million

By Sarah Sluis

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa opened to $63.5 million this weekend, slightly exceeding the first-week revenue of this year's animated competitor Wall-E,
which earned $63.08 million.  Because these numbers are box-office
estimates, it's possible that the figures have been rounded up to give Madagascar the reigning position among this year's CGI films.  Even matching Wall-E's take is impressive, given that fall's animated features have generally opened to $30 to $40 million.  2007's Bee Movie, for example, debuted with $38 million.  Overall, this fall has been strong for family-oriented films: Beverly Hills Chihuahua took
advantage of a lull in family fare and drove to a multiple-week #1 finish, and HSM3,
which opened two weeks ago, dropped less than 40% this week to earn
$9.2 million and the highest finish for an existing release (#3).  Of
course, the box office is only a starting point for HSM3's DVD, soundtrack, and merchandise sales.

In second place, Role Models earned $19.2 million, exceeding
expectations and flabbergasting those that expect all R-rated, heavily
marketed comedies to fare the same.  Zack and Miri Make a Porno, which finished at number five this week, earning $6.5 million, only opened to $10 million.

Changeling earned $6.2 million this weekend, dropping only
22%.  While the film has garnered mediocre reviews, with critics
perhaps holding their praise for Eastwood's winter release, Gran Torino,
the word-of-mouth spin on the movie is "it's nothing like the commercials
make it seem," commentary that could raise interest in the film among
those who wrote it off based on the reviews.  A serial child abductor
can do that to a movie.

In a disappointing debut, Soul Men earned $5.6 million.  Perhaps those looking for a career retrospective of Bernie Mac chose Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa instead?

Among the bottom five, Saw V and The Haunting of Molly Hartley both tapered off, earning $4.2 and $3.4 million each.  Despite similar performances this week, Saw V's stellar opening week accounts for a total box-office gross quintuple that of Molly Hartley.

At number nine, The Secret Life of Bees continues to buzz along, also dropping only 22% from last weekend.  Finally, Eagle Eye,
at number ten, is now less than $4 million from crossing the $100
million mark.  While it's already in its seventh week of release, a few
more weeks of crossing the $1 million mark would bring it to the
coveted seven-figure box-office total.

This week has one major release, the twenty-second installment of
the James Bond franchise, so most of these titles will stay in the top
ten for another week.

Complete studio estimates here.