Top 10 for January 5-7, 2007 Summary: Final numbers are in.
For the third straight weekend Ben Stiller's smash-hit Night at the Museum steamrolled the competition in first, falling just 35% to $23.7 million and pushing its three week cume to a phenomenal $164 million. Showing tremendous staying power, the fx-laden comedy should have no trouble breaking $200 million domestically, and is just $2 million shy of surpassing Stiller's 2000 comedy hit Meet the Parents.
The smallest drop in the top ten went to Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness, which slipped just 33% to $12.9 million. In just four weeks, the feel-good drama has grossed $124 million, and could net Sony $150 million by the end of its domestic run.
Alphonso Cuaron's critically-acclaimed thriller Children of Men took in an estimated $10.3 million in its first weekend of wide release, averaging an impressive $8,515 from 1,209 theaters. Budgeted at $76 million, the Universal film should continue to expand into more theaters heading into awards season.
Hilary Swank's new drama Freedom Writers debuted strongly in fourth place with an estimated $9.7 million, averaging a strong $7,136 in just 1,360 theaters. Budgeted at a modest $21 million, the well-reviewed Paramount picture will expand into 700 more theaters for the long Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
Paramount-DreamWorks' musical hit Dreamgirls enjoyed another standout performance in its second weekend of semi-wide release, earning an estimated $8.8 million in just 852 theaters for a top ten best $10,358 average. Starring Jamie Foxx and Beyonce Knowles, the film's four-week cume is now $54.5 million. With Paramount planning on adding another 1,000 theaters to its release slate next weekend, look for Dreamgirls to post another phenomenal weekend as the Oscar buzz continues to grow.
The computer-animated comedy Happyily N'Ever After opened weakly in sixth place, earning an estimated $6.8 million in 2,381 theaters for a weak $2,855 average. Literally butchered by critics (just a 5% fresh rating from critics polled by Rottentomatoes.com), the Lionsgate Films release should see a quick exit out of the top ten.
Opening out of the top ten in eleventh was Cedric the Entertainer's equally panned Code Name: The Cleaner, which took in $4.6 million in 1,736 theaters, averaging just $2,664 per theater. Budgeted at $20 million, the New Line release won't come close to breaking even domestically.
Armed with four newcomers, the top ten films grossed an estimated $97.2 million, down 1% from last year's comparable frame when Hostel slashed audiences with $19.6 million. It was up 4% from 2005 when Meet the Fockers maintained its top spot with $28.5 million.
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