Box Office: 'G.I. Joe' grabs No. 1 with $56M

Weekend of August 7 – 9, 2009: “G.I. Joe” rises as “Funny People” falls

Paramount’s summer action spectacle “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” raced to the top of the North American box office this weekend with a solid $56.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Directed by Stephen Sommers and based on the popular Hasbro action figure, the film starring Channing Tatum, Dennis Quaid, Marlon Wayans and Sienna Miller scored an average of $14,025 per theater at 4,007 locations.

Debuting in second place with $20.1 million was Nora Ephron’s comedy “Julie & Julia,” which stars Meryl Streep and Amy Adams as two women whose passions for cooking guide them to new happiness.

Disney’s family adventure “G-Force” stayed put in third place, scoring $9.8 million for a total domestic gross of $86.1 million. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced film follows a squad of smart guinea pigs trying to stop a ruthless villain from taking over the world.

Meanwhile, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” slipped to No. 4, taking home $8.8 million for a cume of $273.8 million after nearly four weeks in release. Last week’s box office winner “Funny People” dropped to No. 5 with a weekend gross of $7.8 million and a total haul of $40.4 million.

At No. 6, Robert Luketic’s romantic comedy “The Ugly Truth” collected another $7 million, lifting its cumulative gross to $69 million. New entry “A Perfect Getaway” followed in seventh place, earning a three-day gross of $5.7 million.

At the bottom of the top 10, “Aliens in the Attic” pulled in $4 million, reaching a total haul of $16.2 million after a two-week run. Horror thriller “Orphan” finished ninth this weekend, picking up $3.7 million for a cume of $34.8 million.

Moving up to spots from No. 12 to 10 was Marc Webb’s critically acclaimed comedy “(500) Days of Summer,” which brought in $3.7 million after expanding to 817 locations this weekend.

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