The Weekend Gross - Page 5

Producer extraordinaire Judd Apatow's return to directing after a two year hiatus was cause for celebration, as the producer/writer/director's latest comedy Funny People topped the weekend with an estimated $23.4 million. The film bumped last weeks' champ G-Force to third, while Warner's Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince held on to second place with $17.7 million. Fox's family film Aliens in the Attic finished in a disappointing fifth place with $7.8 million.

With comedic A-listers Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen joining forces for the first time in their respective careers, Universal's Funny People claimed the No. 1 spot this weekend with $23.4 million. The third film directed by Judd Apatow, following 2007's blockbuster Knocked Up ($30.6m opening, $148.7m total) and 2005's sleeper hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin ($21.4m, 109.4m), Funny People beat out a solid sophomore frame from G-Force and a small drop from Warner's Harry Potter.

Averaging a strong $7,795 in 3,007 theaters, the R-rated pic's internals aren't nearly as robust. The hefty $75 million budgeted release saw a 15% drop in ticket sales from Friday to Saturday, indicating tepid word of mouth. If the trend continues next weekend, the film will have a nearly impossible chance to reach $100 million domestic.

Warner's blockbuster Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince held its spot to move ahead of last week's champ G-Force, as the sequel fell less than 40% to $17.7 million. With many IMAX locations moving from Transformers 2 to Half-Blood Prince (166 in total), the $250 million budgeted pic managed to boost its domestic cume to $255.5 million. After a rocky sophomore frame that saw the film drop a stunning 62%, the film has rebounded and now looks on pace to reach $300 million. It's currently the fourth highest grossing film of 2009, behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Pixar's Up, and Warner's The Hangover.

Internationally, Half-Blood Prince continues to dominate, raking in another strong $42.7 million in 64 markets, bringing its overseas haul to a whopping $492.3 million. Worldwide, the sixth installment in the Harry Potter series has grossed $747.8 million.

Disney's kidpic G-Force slipped 46% to third with $17.1 million, bringing its 10-day cume to $66.5 million. At its current pace, look for the film to surpass $100 million domestic.

With Apatow's Funny People grabbing much of the date crowd this weekend, The Ugly Truth took a 53% hit in its sophomore frame, bringing in $13 million this weekend. In ten days, the Sony pic has grossed a strong $54.5 million. Starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, the $38 million budgeted romantic comedy should hit $90 million domestic by the end of its run.

Fox's kidpic debut Aliens in the Attic opened with $7.8 million, averaging a weak $2,511 in 3,106 theaters. The poorly reviewed release won't last long in the top ten.

It was a brief run at the top for Warner's hit sequel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as the unsuspecting wizard saga was upended by Disney's cute and cuddly G-Force after just one week in No. 1. In third was the debut of the Katherine Heigl-Gerard Butler romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, which bowed strongly despite poor reviews.

Taking advantage of 1,600 3D screens that largely came from rival Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Disney's G-Force found its way to the top spot this weekend with a strong $32.2 million. The PG-rated children's actioner surprisingly knocked off what was expected to be another No. 1 finish for Harry Potter, averaging $8,697 in 3,697 theaters. The live-action release followed successful 3D runs by animated pics Up and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, both of which took advantage of the higher ticket prices for 3D-equipped theaters. However, given the limited available of 3D screens around the country, one movie normally dominates the 3D screen theater count at the expense of another, in this case that film being Fox's Ice Age 3, which fell a steep 53% in its fourth week of release.

Falling a precipitous 62% in its second week of release, Warner's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince slipped to second with $30 million, bringing its 12-day cume to a whopping $221.8 million. Despite the huge drop, Prince is still running 7% ahead of 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix over the same time frame. Budgeted at a monstrous $250 million, the big budget sequel continued to dominate internationally, pulling in another $84.4 million. In 64 markets the film has amassed an overseas total of $405.3 million, bringing its worldwide haul to $627.1 million.

Sony's romantic comedy The Ugly Truth posted a strong $27 million in third, averaging an impressive $9,368 in 2,882 theaters. The R-rated debut bested Katherine Heigl's previous hit comedy 27 Dresses, which opened with $23 million on its way to $76.8 million in January 2008. Despite overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, the film managed to fill a significant vacuum in the marketplace for women and couples now that The Proposal is in its sixth week of release.

Opening mildly in fourth was the new horror pic Orphan, which bowed with $12.8 million in 2,750 theaters. Averaging $4,644 per theater, the R-rated thriller was butchered by critics and fell a steep 10% from Friday to Saturday, indicating soft word of mouth.

Fox's blockbuster computer-animated comedy Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs fell 53% (its largest drop to date) to $8.2 million, bringing its four week cume to $171.3 million. The film saw many of its 3D screens taken away and given to Disney's G-Force. At its current pace, the film looks on target to match or beat the finally domestic tally of its predecessor Ice Age: The Meltdown ($195.3 million). Overseas, the film has been an absolute monster, adding $40.6 million bringing its international cume to $505.4 million. In just four weeks the film has amassed $676.7 million worldwide.

Thanks to a surprisingly huge drop from Harry Potter, the top ten films fell 19% from last year's comparable frame when The Dark Knight held onto the top spot with $75.2 million.