The weekend box office easily belonged to family film “Where the Wild Things Are,” which performed well en route to an estimated $32.5 million box office finish.
But while the dominant “Wild Things” performance was expected, there were some uncertainties answered this weekend. Namely, the critically-panned “Law-Abiding Citizen” proved capable of overcoming bad reviews; it landed in second with a healthy $21.3 million.
The film’s solid gross proves that the cast (Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx), along with an intriguing theatrical trailer and a target audience not consumed by the weekend’s other top films, worked collaboratively to compensate for the poor reviews.
On the well-reviewed end, an expanded “Paranormal Activity” moved all the way up to $20.2 million and third place.
New release “The Stepfather” performed within expected territory at $12.3 million (fifth place). Holdover champ “Couples Retreat” was fourth with $17.9 million.
Weekend Top Ten:
1) Where the Wild Things Are – $32.5 million
2) Law-Abiding Citizen – $21.3 million
3) Paranormal Activity – $20.2 million ($33.7 million)
4) Couples Retreat – $17.9 million ($63.3 million)
5) The Stepfather – $12.3 million
6) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – $8.1 million ($108.3 milllion)
7) Zombieland – $7.8 million ($60.8 million)
8) Toy Story/Toy Story 2 in 3D – $3 million ($28.6 million)
9) Surrogates – $1.9 million ($36.3 million)
10) The Invention of Lying – $1.9 million ($15.5 million)
