Weekend of October 16 – 17, 2009: New releases help boost box office performance

Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are” easily defeated its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $32.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved book scored a strong average of $8,693 per theater at 3,735 locations. Starring Max Records, the film follows a lonely boy who bonds with a bunch of wild creatures in his imagination.

New entry “Law Abiding Citizen” debuted in second place with $21.2 million via an average of $7,353 million at 2,890 locations. The F. Gary Gray-directed thriller stars Gerard Butler as a desperate widower threatening to bring down the justice system. Jamie Foxx co-stars.

Surprise hit “Paranormal Activity” delivered yet another phenomenal performance at the box office this weekend, taking home a stunning $20.1 million from ticket sales at only 760 locations. The scary flick scored an average of $26,530 per theater!

At No. 4, Vince Vaughn’s latest comedy “Couples Retreat” picked up another $17.9 million, bringing its domestic total to $63.3 million. Also starring Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis, the Universal release follows four couples’ adventures at a tropical island resort.

Also opening this weekend was “The Stepfather,” which bagged $12.3 million, enough for fifth place. Dylan Walsh plays a ruthless killer who pretends to be a nice stepfather but eventually kills the families he’s living with.

Meanwhile, Sony’s hit animated flick “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” slipped to No. 6 this weekend, pulling in $8.1 million for a total gross of $108.2 million after a solid five-week run.

Ruben Fleischer’s comedy “Zombieland” dropped to seventh place, earning $7.8 million for a total haul of $60.8 million. Following at No. 8 with $3 million was the “Toy Story/Toy Story 2” 3D double feature, which reached a cume of $28.5 million.

At No. 9, Bruce Willis’ action flick “Surrogates” reached a cumulative gross of $36.3 million after weekend earnings of $1.9 million. Finally, “The Invention of Lying” finished tenth with a weekend gross of $1.9 million and a total of $15.9 million.

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