Box Office: "Meet the Spartans" conquers No. 1 spot

 

By Franck Tabouring

"Meet the Spartans” conquered the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$18.7 million.

Despite universally negative reviews, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer’s comedy slightly surpassed the opening weekend gross of Friedberg’s previous film “Epic Movie,” which pulled $18.6 million last year. “Meet the Spartans” is yet another spoof of recent Hollywood blockbusters, including “300,” “Stomp the Yard” and “Transformers.”

New entry “Rambo” debuted at No. 2 this weekend, collecting $18.1 million from ticket sales at 2,751 locations. Sylvester Stallone’s latest installment in the popular series failed to score with critics but attracted a fairly large crowd, beating the opening weekend gross of “First Blood” and “Rambo III,” but failing to soar past the $25.5 million opening gross of “Rambo: First Blood Part II.”

At No. 3, “27 Dresses” put on a solid show with a weekend gross of $13.6 million. The Anne Fletcher-directed comedy starring Katherine Heigl lifted its domestic total to $45.3 million after two weeks in release. Heigl plays a passionate bridesmaid who’s asked to arrange her sister’s wedding to the man (Edward Burns) she’s secretly in love with.

Last week’s winner “Cloverfield” tumbles to No. 4, taking home $12.7 million and reaching a cumulative gross of $64.2 million. Directed by Matt Reeves and produced by J.J. Abrams, Paramount’s popular creature-feature focuses on a small group of friends trying to escape Manhattan while a massive creature rips through the city.

New entry “Untraceable” ranks in fifth this weekend, earning $11.2 million from ticket sales at 2,368 sites. The Gregory Hoblit-directed thriller stars Diane Lane as an FBI agent struggling to hunt down a ruthless serial killer who tortures his victims in front of millions of Internet users. Trashed by critics nationwide, “Untraceable” barely managed to top the $11 million opening weekend gross of Hoblit’s previous film “Fracture.”

Meanwhile, Jason Reitman’s critically acclaimed comedy “Juno” slipped to No. 6, taking $10.3 million. Fox Searchlight’s film about a pregnant 15-year-old passed the $100 million mark this weekend after a strong eight-week run.

“The Bucket List” ranked seventh with a weekend gross of $10.2 million, while “There Will Be Blood” entered the top 10 after expanding into 882 theatres. Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed thriller took home $4.8 million, lifting its domestic gross to $14.7 million after five weeks in theatres.

Two films rounded out the top ten: Jon Turteltaub’s action adventure “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” with $4.6 million, and Callie Khouri’s comedy “Mad Money” with 4.6 million as well.

Source: Box Office Mojo - www.boxofficemojo.com