Box Office: 'The Roommate' scares up $15M

Despite expected negative reviews from across the board, Christian E. Christiansen's new thriller "The Roommate" easily took over the North American box office this weekend with $15.6 million in ticket sales at 2,534 sites. Not a bad result for a flick that only cost around $16 million to make.

The title of this one says it all: a college student faces hell when her new roommate turns out to be a super freak. The film stars Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly and Cam Gigandet, and it will probably take a big dive at the b.o. next weekend. For now though, it's the No.1 movie nationwide, earning an average of $6,156 per theater.

Also opening this weekend was "Sanctum," the James Cameron-produced 3D cave movie helmed by Alister Grierson. "Sanctum" debuted at No. 2 with a weekend gross of $9.2 million from 2,787 sites. Not exactly a winner, I know. The film's average income per theater was a bare $3,310.

Meanwhile, "No Strings Attached" slipped to No. 3 this weekend, picking up $8.4 million for a total gross of $51.7 million. Following was Oscar-nominated drama "The King's Speech," which jumped to fourth place after being boosted by recent awards. "Speech" bagged $8.3 million, reaching a cumulative gross of $84.1 million.

At No. 5, "The Green Hornet" collected $6.1 million. The action comedy starring Seth Rogen in the role of a clumsy crimefighter lifted its total haul to $87.2 million, which is still $23 million away from its budget. Taking a huge hit this week was "The Rite" with Anthony Hopkins. That flick only made $5.5 million for a cume of $23.6 million.

Also, "The Mechanic" fell to seventh place with $5.3 million, reaching a total gross of $20 million. Following at No. 8 was "True Grit," which stole $4.7 million for a strong $155 million total. At the bottom of the prestigious top 10, Ron Howard's "The Dilemma" finished with $3.44 million at ninth place, while "Black Swan" wrapped with $3.4 million ($95.8 million total gross).

Final word: All in all, it's been a pretty quiet, uneventful weekend at the box office.

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

Article by Franck Tabouring