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 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.

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Weekend of March 13 - 15, 2009

"Race to Witch Mountain" defeated its competition at the North American box office this weekend with $24.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Directed by Andy Fickman, Walt Disney's latest family adventure stars Dwayne Johnson as a Las Vegas taxi driver helping two alien kids return to their spaceship. The film is based on the book by Alexander Key.

Last week's winner "Watchmen" dropped to No. 2, earning $17.8 million for a domestic total of $85.7 million. Based on the celebrated graphic novel by Alan Moore, the film tells the story of a group of superheroes investigating one of their colleagues' murder.

Debuting in third place this weekend with $14.1 million was "The Last House on the Left," a remake of Wes Craven's 1972 horror flick of the same title. The plot follows two parents seeking revenge against a group of sociopaths who raped their daughter.

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It sure sounds strange, but it's true.

February '09 was indeed the highest grossing month ever in North America, according to Brandon Gray at Box Office Mojo.

Gray says the total gross for the month came in at about $770 million, which is indeed quite impressive, especially considering the weak quality of new releases.

One of the top players was Pierre Morel's entertaining thriller "Taken," which opened at the end of January but has been delivering strong performances at the box office over the past weeks. The film's current total stands at $118 million.

Other films contributing to the month's success were "He's Just Not That Into You," "Madea Goes to Jail" and "Coraline."

Of course, some major January releases continued to earn big in February, including "Gran Torino" and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop."

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Weekend of March 6 – 8, 2009

Zack Snyder’s “Watchmen” stormed the North American box office this weekend with $55.6 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The big-screen adaptation of the celebrated graphic novel scored the widest release ever for an R-rated film, opening at 3,611 locations. The film also collected $4.5 million from midnight screenings early Friday.

Still, “Watchmen” failed to beat Snyder’s last film “300,” which debuted at 3,280 locations two years ago and delivered a $70.8 million opening weekend gross.

At No. 2, Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail” collected another $8.8 million, reaching a domestic total of $76.5 million after three weeks in release. The film already passed the $63.2 million total gross of its predecessor, “Madea’s Family Reunion.”

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Weekend of February 27 – March 1, 2009

Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail” topped the North American box office for the second consecutive weekend with $16.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The latest installment in the popular “Madea” series regained momentum Saturday and Sunday after briefly losing its No. 1 spot to new entry “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” on Friday. The film’s total currently stands at $64.8 million.

At No. 2, the Bruce Hendricks-directed concert film “Jonas Brothers” collected $12 million. The 3D musical event follows the popular band on its Burning Up tour and offers fans a glimpse at how the boys spend their time offstage.

Meanwhile, Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning drama “Slumdog Millionaire” climbed to No. 3 after expanding into 2,943 theaters, collecting $12.1 million and reaching a total haul of $115.1 million after 16 weeks in release.

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Weekend of February 20 -22, 2009

Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail" took over the North American box office this weekend with $41.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Not only did the latest installment in Perry's popular series completely dominate its competition, but the film also managed to beat the $30 million opening weekend gross of 2006's "Madea's Family Reunion." This time around, Madea goes to prison, where she quickly befriends and inspires a troubled prostitute.

Still delivering a strong performance in second place this weekend was Pierre Morel's thriller "Taken," which collected $11.4 million and brought its total haul to $95.1 million after a solid four-week run. Liam Neeson stars as a protective father who stops at nothing to find his kidnapped daughter.

Climbing back up to No. 3 was Henry Selick's 3D stop-motion adventure "Coraline," which earned another $11 million for a domestic total of $53.3 million after three weeks in release.

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Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail" topped the North American box office Friday with an estimated $14.8 million in ticket sales.

Not facing any major competition, "Madea" opened at 2,032 locations, delivering quite a strong one-day gross. Starring Tyler Perry, this latest installment in the series follows Madea as she gets sent to prison. 

Still going very strong at No. 2 was Pierre Morel's thriller "Taken," which earned $3.4 million for a total of $87.2 million. In the film, Liam Neeson stars as a father who will stop at nothing to find his kidnapped daughter.

Following in third place Friday with $2.9 million was "He's Just Not That Into You." The Ken Kwapis-directed comedy lifted its domestic total to $64.4 million after two weeks in release.

At No. 4, Henry Selick's 3D stop-motion adventure "Coraline" picked up another $2.7 million, bringing its cumulative gross to $45.1 million. Last week's winner "Friday the 13th" dropped to No. 5, taking home $2.7 also for a cume of $49.9 million.

This weekend's only other wide release, "Fired Up!," only made it to No. 7 with a daily gross of $2.2 million.

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