Natalie Portman tops the US box office with her new comedy, No Strings Attached. Black Swan isn't doing too badly, either...
There was only one big release this weekend, and it topped a pretty dead box office weekend. In spite of the glut of these sorts of movies lately, No Strings Attached rode the wave of positive publicity for Natalie Portman to the top of the weekend box office. No Strings Attached picked up $19.65 million at theaters, pushing it to a number one debut. Box office is down from last year, but can you really expect anything to match Avatar frenzy? Not really.
The Green Hornet is now the highest grossing live-action superhero comedy on record. Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. Consider the fact that it's a pretty narrow genre known for huge flops rather than successes. Also consider the fact that The Green Hornet stars one of the most consistent box office stars since Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen. Hornet's second weekend picked up $17.6 million over the weekend, pushing its total to $63 million in two weeks. The previous high was Kick-Ass, which took in $48 million for its complete US run.
Holding on to third is The Dilemma. I'm not sure how or why, but the movie picked up another $9.1 million this weekend, despite getting horrible word of mouth (at least from me). I'd imagine some people still think Vince Vaughn and Kevin James are funny in this and haven't read any of the horrible reviews. I feel sorry for those people and wish they could have two hours of their life back.
All the positive praise and publicity for Colin Firth seems to be doing The King's Speech good. It had the lowest box office gross of any movie in the top ten, added theaters when comparative films are shedding them, and held onto fourth place this weekend with $7.8 million. So far, the $15 million movie has taken in 57 million bucks in nine weeks in the US box office. Look for that total to jump at Oscar time, should he bring home a statue.
In what is shaping up to be a pretty interesting race, True Grit and The Fockers both came out five weeks ago and are neck and neck when it comes to total box office grosses. The Fockers started out faster, and has a lead with $141 million, despite flagging business (seventh place this weekend, 4.3 million bucks), but True Grit is holding its audience a lot better (fifth place this weekend, $7.33 million) and is slowly gaining grown with $137.9 million over the same time frame. True Grit will pass The Fockers, but the question is, by how much?
Black Swan finally sinks out of the top five, down to sixth on a take of $5.8 million. It added some theaters this week, which is good, and the attention it has been receiving lately is great news for the flick, which is still one of the most incredibly visceral experiences I've seen at a movie theater. It was like being punched in the gut. Needless to say, I loved every second of its sensory intensity.
The Fighter and Yogi Bear swap spots yet again this weekend. This time, The Fighter fights its way back up to eight, while Yogi sinks down to ninth in the top ten. The Fighter brought in $4.16 million versus Yogi's $3.8 million. Yogi still leads in overall box office, with $88.6 million versus The Fighter's $72.6 million, but Yogi also cost about $80 million to make, so it kind of balances out.
Rounding out the top ten this weekend is Tron Legacy, which sinks to tenth from seventh last weekend. Tron's brought in $163 million, and added $3.64 million this weekend to help nudge that total slightly higher.
What's out next weekend, you're asking? Well, the world's favorite creepy grandpa is back. Sir Anthony Hopkins makes his return to the horror genre with a demonic possession flick called The Rite. If frightening 80-year-olds aren't your thing, then perhaps you might enjoy Jason Statham and Ben Foster shooting people in the face? If that's up your alley, then check out The Mechanic, which also opens this weekend.
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