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Box Office Breakdown: Wolverine Claws Its Way to the Top

Wolverine

Despite a growing list of hurdles (leaked footage, swine flu, mediocre reviews), proved it was a force to be reckoned with last weekend. Although it failed to surpass X-Men: The Last Stand (that 2006 entry debuted at $122.9 million), the Fox feature trounced the competition with an $85.1 million open. In other words, Wolverine earned over $20 million more than the other Top Ten entries…combined.

Sitting far back in second place was , Matthew McConaughey’s attempt to bring a little muscle into the box office. The romantic comedy, costarring Jennifer Garner, grossed $15.4 million on the weekend before Mother’s Day. (That’s less than a million more than what Made of Honor pulled in at this same time last year.) Meanwhile, last Friday’s only other wide release, Battle for Terra, raked in a disappointing $1.1 million for a 12th place finish.

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Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Drawn to Obsessed

Obsessed

It was a battle between two stars at the box office this weekend.

After back-to-back roles in music-related dramas, Beyonce Knowles proved she could deliver without having to sing a note. , a thriller produced for approximately $20 million, pulled in nearly $29 million for a 1st place finish. The film, also featuring two NBC stars (The Office’s Idris Elba and Heroes’ Ali Larter), more than doubled last week’s champ, 17 Again.

Meanwhile, an Academy Award winner and an Iron Man joined forces for a surprising fourth place finish. , costarring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., didn’t even cross the $10 million mark. Although it was once considered as a pre-Oscars release, the film’s debut grossed less than last week’s nominee-filled entry, State of Play.

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Box Office Breakdown: 17 is the Lucky Number

17 Again

may be cute, but he’s no Hannah Montana.

This weekend the Disney veteran got a chance to prove his worth in his first starring role. And though he managed to hit #1, Efron pulled in approximately $8.6 million less than Miley Cyrus did last week. The premiere of 17 Again also opened to $18.3 million less than High School Musical 3 did last October. (Then again, those two family-friendly films were a bit more accessible with their G-ratings.)

Russell Crowe, in the meantime, had far much more to groan about. The Oscar winner found his new movie, , sandwiched in between the two tween idols. The thriller, costarring Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams, earned nearly $10 million less than the age-reversal comedy for a second place finish.

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Box Office Breakdown: Another Win for Miley Cyrus

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Miley Cyrus got a big treat in her goodie basket this weekend.

Just over a year after breaking a record for Super Bowl weekend releases, the tween idol has made waves again. The 16-year-old’s new film is now the 2nd best Easter opener ever. Hannah Montana: The Movie slowed down last week’s hot property, Fast & Furious, to win the holiday frame. Cyrus’ 2-D offering pulled in $32.3 million and earned the best first-day ever for a live-action G-rated feature.

The only other wide releases last weekend were Observe and Report and Dragonball: Evolution. Although Paul Blart debuted to a surprising $40 million, Seth Rogen’s mall comedy earned only $11 million and a fourth place-finish. (Observe did do slightly better than Zack and Miri‘s $10.1 million premiere.) Dragonball, in the meantime, barely went noticed with its $4.7 million take. That was just enough for a Top Ten appearance.

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In Theaters This Weekend: April 10, 2009

Observe and Report

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: March 24, 2009

Quantum of Solace DVDHere are some of the options available this Tuesday:

  • Bolt: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Goldfinger: Blu-ray
  • The Kite Runner: Blu-ray
  • A Mighty Heart: Blu-ray
  • Moonraker: Blu-ray
  • Never Say Never Again (Collector’s Edition): DVD, Blu-ray
  • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: DVD
  • Quantum of Solace: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Secrets of the Furious Five: DVD
  • A Woman Called Golda: DVD
  • The World is Not Enough: Blu-ray

Click here to see the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

 

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: March 17, 2009

BoltHere are some of the options available this Tuesday:

  • Bolt: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Elegy: DVD
  • The Princess Bride: Blu-ray
  • Punisher: War Zone: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Rollerball: Blu-ray
  • The Rules of Attraction: Blu-ray
  • Twilight: DVD  **releases on 3/21**

Click here to see the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Say Yes to Jim Carrey

Yes Man

How will remember Winter Solstice 2008? As the weekend he placed second.

Prior to Friday’s premieres, number crunchers were already predicting a close race between headliners Jim Carrey and Will Smith. Unfortunately for Warner Bros., ‘s ultimate victory felt slightly hollow. The comedy’s $18.2 million gross was nowhere near the figures Carrey used to generate. (Bruce Almighty‘s premiere earned $68 million in 2003; Liar Liar took in $31.4 million in 1997.) Yes did, though, do better than 2005’s Fun with Dick and Jane. (That film raked in $14.1 million during its open.)

Will Smith didn’t have much to celebrate over the last three days either. His latest film, , only took in $14.8 million. That’s a number almost unheard of in Smith-land. The drama, directed by Pursuit of Happyness’ Gabriele Muccino, was the actor’s lowest grosser since Ali. (That film earned $14.7 million when it debuted in December 2001.)

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Box Office Breakdown: The Day The Earth Stood Still Stands Tall

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Mediocre reviews couldn’t keep from vaulting into first place this weekend.

The sci-fi remake starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly earned $30.5 million over the last three days, more than doubling the take of its nearest competitor. Although Earth had the smallest debut for a #1 film since October 17th (when Max Payne grossed $17.6 million), the Fox feature only cost a reported $80 million to make. It was also the studio’s best open since Horton Hears a Who unfolded in back in March.

The only other new entries in this week’s Top Ten were Nothing Like the Holidays and . Holidays took in $3.5 million and scored itself a 7th place finish. Meanwhile, Milk - which had actually reached #10 before - reentered the charts at #9.

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Box Office Breakdown: Another Festive Weekend for Four Christmases

Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon

Faced with little competition, last week’s #1 lived to see another win. took in $16.8 million over the last three days - a 46% drop from its first outing - to bring its cumulative total to $69.8 million. The comedy was only one of two films to pass the $10 million mark this weekend.

The only new entries in the Top Ten were and Punisher: War Zone. Despite a relatively small opening (it only hit 687 theaters), Cadillac averaged $5,015 per theater for a 9th place finish. Meanwhile, Punisher took in a disappointing $4.3 million, less than 1/3 of what the first film did in 2004.

Despite premiering at #22, was actually this weekend’s top performer. Ron Howard’s film earned a whopping $60,236 per screen average from only 3 theaters.

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Read More | Variety

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