Weekend of January 11 - 13

“The Bucket List” topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$19.3 million.

Rob Reiner’s drama starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman expanded into 2,911 theatres on Friday, lifting its cumulative gross to $20.8 million after three weeks in release. “The Bucket List” follows two terminally ill cancer patients on their quest to do everything they ever wanted to do before they die.

New entry First Sunday debuted at No. 2 this weekend, snatching $17.7 million from 2,213 locations. Directed by David E. Talbert, the comedy stars Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan as two buddies who plan to rob a church in order to pay off an immense debt.

Jason Reitman’s surprise hit “Juno” dropped to No. 3, taking home $13.6 million and reaching a total haul of $70.8 million after a strong six-week run. Adored by critics nationwide, “Juno” stars Ellen page as a pregnant 15-year-old who plans to give her baby up for adoption.

Last week’s winner “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” tumbled to No. 4 this weekend, collecting $11.3 million from ticket sales at 3,377 sites. Walt Disney Pictures’ box office hit starring Nicholas Cage soared past the cumulative gross of its predecessor, lifting its domestic total to $187 million after only four weeks in theatres.

Meanwhile, “Alvin and the Chipmunks” ranked in fifth this week, pulling $9.3 million and reaching a cumulative of $187 million after a strong five-week run. The Tim Hill-directed family film based on the popular 1980s cartoon series is a tremendous success at the box office, despite negative reviews from the nation’s top critics.  

Will Smith’s post-apocalyptic thriller “I Am Legend” tumbled from No. 2 to No. 6, earning 8.1 million from 3,353 locations. Directed by Francis Lawrence, the Warner Bros. release lifted its domestic gross to $240 million after only five weeks.

Eric Valette’s thriller “One Missed Call” dropped to No. 7 with $5.9 million, reaching a total of $20.4 million. . Richard LaGravenese’s romance “P.S. I Love You” followed at No. 8, with a weekend gross of $4.8 million and a domestic total of $46.8 million after a four-week run.

Two films rounded out the top ten: new entry “The Pirated Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie” with $4.2 million, and Joe Wright’s “Atonement,” with $4.2 million.

Experts predicted a harsh feud between “The Bucket List” and “Juno,” but Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman clearly lured more cinemagoers to theatres this weekend. The entry of “First Sunday,” on the other hand, is not really a surprise. Over the past three years, Ice Cube has proven that no matter how bad the critics’ reviews, his films always make good money at the box office.

I’d also like to point out that “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” now finally raced passed the domestic gross of its predecessor. Most blockbuster sequels often get a harsher treatment from critics, but they sure prove to be profitable enough for the studios. But that’s just how it works today in Hollywood: the more successful the movie, the more crap we have to watch.

Select sequels are actually worth the price of admission, but looking at this situation from a broader perspective, the most money flows into the most profitable franchises. This sucks for smaller films that fight hard and try to get a shot at being distributed nationwide. A shift in the attitude of the general audience is strongly suggested…  

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)