Box office report
The Warner Bros. comedy “The Hangover” made it a double over the weekend, narrowly coming in at the top spot at the box office for the second week in a row.
The tale of a Vegas bachelor party gone awry made an estimated $33.4 million over the weekend, according to the Associated Press. That boosts its overall take to $105.4 million after 10 days in theaters.
It also become the summer’s first movie to finish at No. 1 for two weekends in a row – for real. Last week, Pixar Animation Studio’s “Up” was awarded the top spot at the box office based on estimated ticket sales, but “The Hangover” proved the real No. 1 movie after the tallies were completed.
Pixar’s “Up” again came in a close second with $30.5 million, lifting the animated film’s total to $187.2 million after three weekends.
Sony’s action remake “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” reuniting Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott with John Travolta as a baddie, opened in third place with $25 million.
The other new wide release, the Paramount family comedy “Imagine That,” starring Eddie Murphy, debuted at No. 6 with a meager $5.7 million. That’s a shame since the film was much better than some of Murphy’s previous family-friendly efforts that have been box-office successes.
According to the AP, the overall box office numbers fell drastically compared to the same weekend a year ago, when “The Incredible Hulk” smashed to a $55.4 million weekend. Total revenues this weekend came in at $140 million, off 22 percent from last year’s, the AP reported, citing Hollywood.com box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
It was the third straight weekend that Hollywood revenues have dropped, according to the AP. Earlier in the year, revenues zoomed ahead 15 percent compared to 2008, but the box office now is ahead by just 11 percent.
“The growth rate for the summer box office is stalled. Every week we’re systematically dropping down,” Dergarabedian told the AP. “That doesn’t mean things are terrible. It just means that compared to last year, it was a great weekend for a `Hangover’ but not a great weekend for the industry.”
Some movies that did wellover the weekend in limited release: Francis Ford Coppola’s drama “Tetro,” which made $31,339 in two theaters for a solid average of $15,670 a cinema. (That compared to an $8,133 average in 3,074 theaters for “Pelham 1 2 3″ and $1,895 in 3,008 cinemas for “Imagine That,” according to AP.)
Pictures Classics’ sci-fi tale “Moon,” starring Sam Rockwell, pulled in $145,218 in eight theaters for an $18,152 average.
Magnolia Pictures’ documentary “Food, Inc.” pulled in $61,400 in three theaters for a $20,467 average.
Here are the top 10 movies, from the AP. (Note that J.J. Abrams’ reboot of “Star Trek” is still going strong at No. 7.)
1. “The Hangover,” $33.4 million.
2. “Up,” $30.5 million.
3. “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” $25 million.
4. “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” $9.6 million.
5. “Land of the Lost,” $9.2 million.
6. “Imagine That,” $5.7 million.
7. “Star Trek,” $5.6 million.
8. “Terminator Salvation,” $4.7 million.
9. “Angels & Demons,” $4.2 million.
10. “Drag Me to Hell,” $3.9 million.
-BAM
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Fear not, box office! Optimus is coming to rescue you! (Not to mention a total FOX named Megan.) And after that a certain wizard will be arriving to keep things lively.