Box Office: 'Knowing' reigns supreme at No. 1

Weekend of March 20 – 22, 2009

“Knowing” emerged as the champion at the North American box office this weekend with $24.8 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Alex Proyas’ apocalyptic thriller celebrated the widest release this week at 3,332 locations, taking the No. 1 spot as early as Friday. In the film, Nicholas Cage tries to prevent a series of global disasters.

Debuting in second place was John Hamburg’s latest comedy “ I Love You, Man,” which picked up $18 million. Starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, the movie centers on a man who doesn’t have any male buddies and heads out to find the perfect best man for his wedding.

“Duplicity,” the weekend’s third new release, finished third with $14.4 million. The Tony Gilroy-directed comedy stars Clive Owen and Julia Roberts as two spies teaming up to pull off the perfect corporate con.

Last week’s winner “Race to Witch Mountain” dropped to No. 4, earning another $13 million for a domestic total of $44.7 million. Dwayne Johnson stars as a Las Vegas taxi driver helping two extraterrestrial kids to return to their spaceship.

Meanwhile, Zack Snyder’s “Watchmen” slipped to fifth place, taking home $6.7 million and reaching a cumulative gross of $98 million. Following at No. 6 was “The Last House on the Left,” which picked up $5.9 million and brought its total haul to $24 million.

Pierre Morel’s “Taken” dropped to No. 7 with $4.1 million in weekend ticket sales, bringing its total gross to an impressive $133.1 million after eight weeks in release. Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” pulled $2.7 million at No. 8, reaching a total of $137.2 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail” at No. 9, which took home $2.5 million for a domestic total of $87.2 million, and “Coraline” at No. 10 with a weekend gross of $2.1 million and a cumulative gross of $72.8 million.

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