Box office report
“The Day the Earth Stood Still”
The remake of the sci-fi classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” starring Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, topped the box office over the weekend with $31 million in its debut, according to the Associated Press.
The movie updates the 1951 tale of an alien (that would be Keanu) and his giant robot who come to Earth to warn humans about the consequences of their destructive actions.
“Audiences are moving to see `The Day the Earth Stood Still.’ It’s a visually stunning movie with timely issues everybody on this planet can relate to,” Fox distribution executive Chris Aronson told the AP. “Basically, how we treat each other and how we treat this planet that we call home.”
After two weeks in the top spot, the Warner Bros. comedy ”Four Christmases” dropped to second place with $13.3 million. The Reese Witherspoon-Vince Vaughn vehicle has made $88 million in three weeks.
The film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” made another $8 million for the No. 3 spot. The movie has made more than $150 million.
“Nothing Like the Holidays”
The weekend’s other wide release, Overture Films’ “Nothing Like the Holidays,” opened with $3.5 million for seventh place. The film stars John Leguizamo, Debra Messing and Alfred Molina in the seasonal dramady about a Puerto Rican family reuniting for Christmas in the parents’ longtime home in Chicago.
The overall box office was way down compared to the same weekend last year, when “I Am Legend” opened with $77.2 million and “Alvin and the Chipmunks” with $44.3 million. This top 12 movies took in $83.3 million, down 45 percent from last year.
“This was predestined to be a down weekend given the incredible one-two punch of ‘I Am Legend’ and ‘Alvin,’” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, told the AP. “There was no way this weekend could measure up.”
“Doubt”
A rush of films opened with big numbers in limited release to qualify for the Academy Awards:
- Miramax’s “Doubt,” starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, made $525,030 in 15 theaters, for an average of $35,002 per cinema.
- Warner Bros.’ “Gran Torino,” directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, made $284,000 in six theaters, to average $47,333.
- The Weinstein Co.’s “The Reader,” starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, made $170,000 in eight theaters, to average $21,250.
- IFC Film’s “Che,” Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour-plus Che Guevara biopic starring Benicio Del Toro,” made $60,100 in two theaters to average $30,050.
Here is the top 10 list from the AP:
1. “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” $31 million.
2. “Four Christmases,” $13.3 million.
3. “Twilight,” $8 million.
4. “Bolt,” $7.5 million.
“Australia”
5. “Australia,” $4.3 million.
6. “Quantum of Solace,” $3.8 million.
7. “Nothing Like the Holidays,” $3.5 million.
8. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” $3.3 million.
9. “Milk,” $2.6 million.
10. “Transporter 3,” $2.3 million.
-BAM
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