Box Office Guesstimations

[MacGuffin]

'Snakes' Crawls in Box Office Debut

The Internet buzz over "Snakes on a Plane" turned out to be nothing to hiss about. The high-flying thriller preceded by months of unprecedented Web buildup technically debuted as the No. 1 movie, but with a modest $15.25 million opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Distributor New Line Cinema included $1.4 million that "Snakes on a Plane" raked in during 10 p.m. screenings Thursday to get a head start on the weekend. Without those revenues, the movie's weekend total would be $13.85 million, putting it just behind "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," which took in $14.1 million in its third weekend.

David Tuckerman, New Line's head of distribution, said it was customary for studios to include late-night previews in a movie's opening-weekend total.

"It's an industry standard to do that, to roll that in," Tuckerman said. "Also, with this kind of picture, I would tell you unequivocably that at least 90 percent of that business would have gone to see it Friday night if not Thursday."

Rory Bruer, head of distribution at "Talladega Nights" studio Sony, declined to comment.

Box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations ranks movies according to numbers provided by studios, putting "Snakes on a Plane" in first place based on New Line's figures, said company president Paul Dergarabedian.

Starring Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver obsessed with winning, the comedy "Talladega Nights" was No. 1 at the box office the previous two weekends and raised its three-week total to $114.7 million.

With its campy, tell-it-like-it-is title and the star power of lead actor Samuel L. Jackson, "Snakes on a Plane" became an online phenomenon, prompting endless Web chat and parodies long before anyone saw the movie.

That buzz proved fairly hollow when it came to showtime, with the debut weekend a respectable but unremarkable return for a movie with a production budget of just over $30 million.

New Line's Tuckerman said "Snakes on a Plane" would turn in a solid profit but that he did not know why the movie failed to live up to its Internet hype.

"I think people were more excited about the marketing than the actual movie," said Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations. "New Line did not set out to create this Internet buzz. That's actually a marketer's dream, but when marketing translates into awareness but does not inspire people to get out from behind their computers and into the theater, that's a problem."

The movie stars Jackson as an FBI agent battling killer snakes that have been put on a red-eye flight to do away with a witness about to testify in a murder trial.

Universal Pictures' comedy "Accepted," about slackers who start their own college, had the next-best showing among new movies, debuting at No. 4 with $10.1 million. MGM's "Material Girls," starring Hilary and Haylie Duff as cosmetics heiresses, opened at No. 9 with $4.6 million.

The year's biggest hit, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," was No. 8 with $5 million, lifting its domestic total to $401 million. 

1. "Snakes on a Plane," $15.25 million.
2. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," $14.1 million.
3. "World Trade Center," $10.8 million.
4. "Accepted," $10.1 million.
5. "Step Up," $9.9 million.
6. "Barnyard: The Original Party Animals," $7.5 million.
7. "Little Miss Sunshine," $5.7 million.
8. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," $5 million.
9. "Material Girls," $4.6 million.
10. "Pulse," $3.5 million.

[polkablues]

"Snakes on a Plane," $15.25 million.

Ouch.  Kicked in the asp.  Now imagine how poorly it would have done without all the hype.

[MacGuffin]

'Invincible' Repeats As No. 1 Movie

Mark Wahlberg remained invincible at the box office over the long Labor Day weekend. Disney's "Invincible," with Wahlberg as a pro football rookie who makes the team in open tryouts, was the No. 1 movie for the second straight weekend, taking in $15.2 million from Friday through Monday, according to studio estimates. The movie lifted its 11-day total to $37.8 million.

Lionsgate's action tale "Crank," with Jason Statham as a hitman out for revenge while racing to find an antidote after he's poisoned, opened at No. 2 with $13 million.

Nicolas Cage's "The Wicker Man" a Warner Bros. remake of a 1973 thriller about a cop tracking a missing child on an eerie island, took in $11.7 million to debut in third place.

The weekend's other new wide release, Sony's basketball tale "Crossover," opened outside the top 10 with $4.5 million.

Two acclaimed films continued to expand to more theaters and scored again with audiences. Fox Searchlight's road-trip comedy "Little Miss Sunshine," starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell, was No. 4 with $9.7 million.

Yari Film Group's "The Illusionist," starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti in a drama about a mysterious magician in early 1900s Vienna, expanded into wide release and broke into the top 10 with $8 million.

After gradually rolling out following debuts in a handful of theaters, the two films maintained the best per-theater averages among the top-10 movies. Playing in 1,602 locations, "Little Miss Sunshine" averaged $6,071 a cinema, while "The Illusionist" did $8,261 in 971 theaters.

In limited release, IFC Films' documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" opened strongly with $41,664 in two theaters for a $20,832 average. The film, a harsh critique of Hollywood's movie ratings system, expands to more theaters through September.

Hollywood closed the summer with a solid Labor Day weekend, typically a slow time at movie theaters as students prepare to head back to school and families squeeze in last-minute barbecues and other outdoor activities. The top 12 movies took in $98.7 million, up slightly from the same weekend last year.

After domestic revenues went into a tailspin in 2005, Hollywood has rebounded with a sturdy year, with movie attendance rising about 3 percent compared to last summer.

"This was a summer that I think reflected the fact that people still want to go to the movies," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "We didn't break any records, but the box office is alive and well." 

1. "Invincible," $15.2 million.
2. "Crank," $13 million.
3. "The Wicker Man," $11.7 million.
4. "Little Miss Sunshine," $9.7 million.
5. "The Illusionist," $8 million.
6. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," $7.7 million.
7. "Barnyard: The Original Party Animals," $6.4 million.
8. "Accepted," $5.9 million.
9. "World Trade Center," $5.8 million.
10. "Step Up," $6.2 million.

[RegularKarate]

Idiocracy: Fifty bucks

[MacGuffin]

'Covenant' leads weakest box office in three years

The new supernatural thriller "The Covenant" conjured up the lead at a sluggish weekend box office in North America with the lowest sales for a No. 1 movie in three years.

The Sony Corp . release sold $9 million worth of tickets in the three days beginning September 8, followed by another new film, "Hollywoodland," with $6 million and previous champ "Invincible" with $5.8 million.

The last movie to open at No. 1 with less than $10 million was the David Spade comedy "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" with $6.7 million exactly three years ago.

Overall box office sales also were the lowest since then, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The top 12 films earned $54 million this weekend, just ahead of the $50.5 million haul when "Dickie Roberts" ruled. A year ago, the top 12 earned $73.5 million.

Both "The Covenant" and "Dickie Roberts" opened after the U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend, the last hurrah of the lucrative summer moviegoing season. For the next couple of weeks, sales will be weak as the studios dump likely under-performers on the market and lay the groundwork for their prestigious Oscar contenders.

"The Covenant," which cost about $20 million to make, opened within expectations, Sony said. Directed by Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin, the movie revolves around four studly warlocks at a prep school. The target audience appeared to skip the film, though, since three-quarters of the audience for PG-13-rated movie was aged 18 and older, Sony said.

Sony released the film through its mid-budget Screen Gems unit, which already topped the charts this year with "When a Stranger Calls" and "Underworld Evolution." "The Covenant" ranks as Sony's ninth No. 1 film of the year, a feat last accomplished by a studio -- Sony also -- in 2003.

With its $6 million opening, "Hollywoodland" opened about $1 million below the expectations of its distributor, Focus Features. The film centers on the mysterious death of "Superman" TV star George Reeves, played by Ben Affleck, whose surprise victory in the best-actor category at the Venice International Film Festival on Saturday night perplexed critics and journalists. Adrien Brody and Diane Lane also star. Focus Features is the art-house unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal Inc.

The other new release in the top 10 was "The Protector" at No. 4. Thai martial arts director Tony Jaa's follow-up to the popular "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" earned $5 million. The film was released by the Weinstein Co., the closely held entity run by former Miramax Films chiefs Harvey and Bob Weinstein.

After three weeks, Walt Disney Co.'s third-ranked football drama "Invincible," starring Mark Wahlberg, has earned $45.7 million.

The real-time thriller "Crank" fell two places to No. 5 with $4.8 million in its second weekend. The Jason Statham vehicle, released by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.'s Lionsgate, has earned $19.9 million to date.

1. The Covenant, $9 million
2. Hollywoodland, $6 million
3. Invincible, $5.7 million
4. The Protector, $5 million
5. Crank, $4.8 million
6. The Illusionist, $4.6 million
7. Little Miss Sunshine, $4.4 million
8. The Wicker Man, $4.1 million
9. Talladega Nights, $3 million
10. Barnyard, $2.5 million

[matt35mm]

'Covenant' leads weakest box office in three years

Self-explanitory.

Studios deliberately release their low-box-office-expectation-movies on or around Labor Day because few people generally go around this time of the year.  And people don't go to the movies at this time because studios release the movies not that many people want to see around this time of the year.  Who can be surprised?

[modage]

i love it. its like the mid-nineties again with those numbers.

[MacGuffin]

'Gridiron Gang' Scores at the Box Office

It was another down weekend at the box office, although moviegoers helped Sony Pictures and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson score with the football flick "Gridiron Gang."

The drama about a football team at a Los Angeles juvenile detention center took in an estimated $15 million in ticket sales to claim the top spot for the weekend. The debut gave distributor Sony its 10th top opener this year, setting an all-time industry record.

Overall, box office revenues for the top 12 films dipped 12.3 percent from the same weekend last year. That makes for two down weekends in a row, cutting into the single-digit revenue gains the studios has enjoyed so far this year.

Studio revenues are still up 6.2 percent over last year and attendance is also up 3 percent, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Inc.

Despite high expectations from director Brian De Palma and a cast including Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson, the gruesome murder mystery "The Black Dahlia" opened in the second spot with $10.4 million.

The film, from Universal Pictures, fared better than last week's debut of "Hollywoodland," which sank from the number two spot to ninth place this week. Both films deal with real-life Los Angeles mysteries.

Similarly, there are two football-themed films in theaters, including "Invincible," which brought in $3.9 million over the weekend for distributor Disney.

"With two L.A. noir films and two football movies, audiences may be feeling like they've seen some of this before and may not be coming out in bigger numbers," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations.

The animated film "Everyone's Hero" took in $6.2 million. The 20th Century Fox movie was originally directed by the late Christopher Reeve, and his wife Dana served as producer of the film until her death in March.

The other major film opening was Paramount's "The Last Kiss" which took in $4.7 million for fourth place. The movie stars Zach Braff of "Scrubs" and Rachel Bilson of "The O.C."

But the weekend belonged to "The Rock," who scored his fifth No. 1 opening in his career, helping to further his reputation as an action movie star.

1. "Gridiron Gang," $15 million.
2. "The Black Dahlia," $10.4 million.
3. "Everyone's Hero," $6.2 million.
4. "The Last Kiss," $4.7 million.
5. "The Covenant," $4.7 million.
6. "Invincible," $3.9 million.
7. "The Illusionist," $3.8 million.
8. "Little Miss Sunshine," $3.4 million
9. "Hollywoodland," $2.7 million.
10. "Crank," $2.7 million.

[MacGuffin]

'Jackass' Sequel Wins Weekend Box Office

Johnny Knoxville and his pals pulled another prank on Hollywood as their sequel of crazy stunts, "Jackass Number Two," beat a rush of serious movies to take the top spot at the weekend box office.

Paramount's "Jackass Number Two" debuted with $28.1 million, with Focus Features' "Jet Li's Fearless," featuring the martial-arts master in a saga set in China a century ago, opening in second place with $10.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The weekend's other new wide releases debuted weakly, with MGM's World War I tale "Flyboys" opening at No. 4 with $6 million and Sean Penn's political drama "All the King's Men" from Sony premiering at No. 7 with $3.8 million.

Overall box office receipts declined for the third-straight weekend, the top-12 movies taking in $81.9 million, down 7 percent from the same period last year. That follows a solid summer for Hollywood, whereas movie attendance began picking up this time last year after a prolonged summer slump.

"After a weak summer last year, we had a fairly strong fall," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "This year, we're seeing a reversal of what happened last year."

Based on the MTV show that featured Knoxville and his gang doing reckless stunts and dares, "Jackass Number Two" outstripped the opening weekend of 2002's "Jackass," which debuted with $22.8 million.

"Jackass Number Two" cost just $11.5 million to make and took in slightly more than that on Friday alone. Males accounted for two-thirds of the movie's audience, with 71 percent of the crowd younger than 25, according to Paramount.

Van Toffler, president of MTV's music and film group, said Knoxville and his "Jackass" cohorts were elated by the sequel's success.

"I think it was, 'Holy blank, we've done it again. What is wrong with the country?'" Toffler said.

"All the King's Men" stars Penn as a Southern demagogue inspired by Louisiana political kingpin Huey Long in a new adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The film co-stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini and Patricia Clarkson.

Sony originally scheduled "All the King's Men" for release last December amid Academy Awards season but postponed it. Studio executives said the filmmakers would have had to rush to finish the film.

The extra time did not help the film, which generally was trashed by critics, with some reviewers calling Penn's flamboyant performance too over-the-top.

With such a luminous cast and pedigree (the 1949 version of "All the King's Men" won the best-picture Oscar and best-actor prize for Broderick Crawford), what went wrong with the new adaptation?

"I'm not sure," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "It's a movie that we love and believe in, and we hoped that it would perform better."

Warner Independent's whimsical fantasy "The Science of Sleep" opened strongly in limited release with $347,000 in 14 theaters.

Directed by Michel Gondry ("The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), "The Science of Sleep" stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg in the story of a young man whose weird dream life spills over into his waking world. The film expands to about 200 theaters this Friday.

1. "Jackass Number Two," $28.1 million.
2. "Jet Li's Fearless," $10.6 million.
3. "Gridiron Gang," $9.7 million.
4. "Flyboys," $6 million.
5. "Everyone's Hero," $4.75 million.
6. "The Black Dahlia," $4.4 million.
7. "All the King's Men," $3.8 million.
8. "The Covenant," $3.3 million.
9. "The Illusionist," $3.28 million.
10. "Little Miss Sunshine," $2.9 million.

[MacGuffin]

Cinema Owner Closes Over 'Jackass 2'

A small-town theater owner says he wasn't trying to send Hollywood a message when he shut down for two weeks rather than show box-office leader "Jackass 2" or other new releases that he calls "drivel."

But even if not purposeful, Greg Boardman's blank-screened protest is getting a thumbs up from moviegoers who long for family fare and jeers from others who say his theaters are one of the few diversions especially for children in this farming town of about 6,000 people.

"They're not appropriate for really anybody, but I sure wouldn't let my kids go into one of them ... Those are his convictions and he needs to stand by them," Steve Lloyd, 59, of nearby Rossville said of offerings such as "Beerfest" and the "Jackass" sequel that briefly landed a "Closed" sign on the marquee outside Boardman's Lorraine Theatre.

"Jackass" features Johnny Knoxville and his gang performing crazy stunts often involving self-inflicted pain; "Beerfest" revolves around fictional siblings who participate in an Olympics-style drinking competition.

The 84-year-old, 500-seat Lorraine in downtown Hoopeston reopened Friday, showing Disney's football biopic "Invincible," while an 85-seat sister theater down the street relit its screen with Sony's animated kids movie "Open Season."

Hoopeston native P.J. Clingenpeel said the projectors should never have been turned off in the first place. He said the two-week shutdown only hurt children in this town where Boardman's movie houses and a skating rink are about all they have to do outside of school and sports.

"All he did was ruin a lot of kids' weekends. That's why I think he's a crybaby," said Clingenpeel, a 30-year-old welder.

Boardman says he's sorry that darkened screens cut into the town's limited entertainment options. But he says he'll shut down again if faced with a similar batch of films, adding that contractual issues with the studios such as guarantees on first-week receipts sometimes limit his options.

"The movies are so bad and I don't need the money ... I just didn't think I should use my high-quality facilities to show people vomiting on screen," said Boardman, whose theaters boast a high-tech, eight-channel digital sound system.

Boardman grew up near Hoopeston but now runs his theaters from his home near Fresno, Calif. He says shutting down the theaters was based strictly on his personal standards, not censorship or an effort to shelter people in the small town.

Over the years, his theaters have screened controversial films such as "Brokeback Mountain" and plenty of action movies, he said. And during the shutdown, the Lorraine's customer hot line told callers they could catch "Jackass 2" at theaters in nearby Danville.

"There are enough theaters carrying movies like "Jackass" that if people want to see them they can. ... The problem now is that there are too few good movies, movies that transplant you to another place," Boardman said in a telephone interview.

Yvonne Green, who manages the Lorraine, said the shutdown sent a ripple of anxiety through Hoopeston because Boardman has been trying to sell the theaters and many townspeople thought they were closing for good.

Most were understanding when she explained the shutdown was temporary, said Green, who was paid during the two weeks the theaters were closed. She also said she backs Boardman's decision, based on the movies he had to chose from.

"They're just not good. I just don't know how to say it and not say anything nasty," Green said. "They just weren't appropriate for anyone to see."

Paramount Pictures, which produced the "Jackass" sequel, did not immediately return a call for comment Friday.

Boardman said the shutdown wasn't a veiled message to moviemakers and he doubts studios will take notice, despite national media attention that followed the temporary closing.

"I think I'm way too small to make any kind of statement to Hollywood," Boardman said.

His supporters around Hoopeston agree, though some still held onto a glimmer of hope.

"I think it was a good idea to close until he had something worth seeing," said Myra Goodrum, 51, a bus driver for Hoopeston schools. "If they made more good movies, more families would go. But I doubt Hollywood's going to notice us. We're just kind of a hole in the wall."

[Pubrick]

whatever, the only statement he's making is that he's an idiot.

[polkablues]

His main problem is this whole premise that it's either Jackass or nothing... if he wants to show more worthwhile films, go out and get some worthwhile films to show.  If he really wants to send Hollywood a message, start supporting independents.  Otherwise you're just being a self-righteous prick.

[grand theft sparrow]

The 84-year-old, 500-seat Lorraine in downtown Hoopeston reopened Friday, showing Disney's football biopic "Invincible," while an 85-seat sister theater down the street relit its screen with Sony's animated kids movie "Open Season."

So kids, the moral of the story is: if it's stupid and it's rated R, it's vulgar.  If it's stupid and it's rated G, it's $8 for adults and $5 for kids.

[modage]

Departed Returns Scorsese to the Top
Source: Box Office Mojo, Edward Douglas
October 8, 2006

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

Score one for director Martin Scorsese this weekend, as his latest crime drama The Departed, a remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and more, topped the weekend box office with an estimated $27 million in 3,017 theatres, an average of just slightly less than $9,000 per theatre.

Its predominantly older male audience was presumably enticed by Scorsese's return to the gangster world of earlier favorites combined with predominantly favorable reviews. It is Scorsese's first #1 opening movie since the 1991 remake of Cape Fear, which was also Scorsese's highest opening movie with just $10.2 million in 924 theatres. The Departed made more than that amount on Saturday alone, and based on estimates, it's the #8 highest opening October movie, though it will have some heavy competition in coming weeks if it hopes to cross the $100 million mark like Scorsese's last movie The Aviator.

Even with the huge amount of business for Scorsese's latest, the other two new wide releases also did well, making this the first weekend in two months where three new movies in wide release each made over $10 million. The weekend also was up 20% from the same weekend in October last year when five new movies opened, but only Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit made more than $15 million.

The Departed's prime competition came from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, a sequel to the 2003 horror remake starring Jordana Brewster, which opened with approximately $19.1 million, compared to the $28 million opening of the original movie.

In third place, Sony's animated family comedy Open Season, featuring the voices of Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher, took advantage of the lack of other family movies, adding another $16 million to its gross of $44.1 million. With many schools taking off Monday for Columbus Day, it only dropped 32% from its #1 opening weekend.

Opening in fourth place, Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson teamed up for the Lionsgate comedy Employee of the Month, which made a respectable $11.8 million in its debut, an average of $4,575 in 2,579 theatres.

The Kevin Costner-Ashton Kutcher Coast Guard drama The Guardian dropped down to #5 with a second weekend take of $9.6 million. So far, it has grossed $32.3 million.

Paramount-MTV Films' Jackass Number Two took a bigger tumble in its third weekend, making $6.4 million to bring its total to $62.7 million. It should pass the total box office gross of the original movie sometime this week.

MGM/Dimension Films' comedy School for Scoundrels took a nasty 60% plunge from its opening to 7th place, bringing in $3.4 million for a total of $14 million.

The Rock's football drama Gridiron Gang ended up at #8 with $2.3 million and a box office total of $36.6 million and Jet Li's Fearless fell just below with $2.2 million.

The period mystery The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel, continues to do well, adding another $1.8 million in its 6th consecutive week in the Top 10. In two months of release, it has grossed over $34 million, and it's a definite hit for fledgling distributor, Yari Film Group.

Samuel Goldwyn Films' football drama Facing the Giants lost 20 theatres but added another $979 thousand, a 27% drop, to bring its total to $2.7 million. Not bad for a movie that only cost $100 thousand.

The Top 12 was rounded off with the hit Fox Searchlight comedy Little Miss Sunshine and Roland Emmerich's WWI epic Flyboys with $1.3 million and $1 million respectively.

John Cameron Mitchell's controversial sex-drama Shortbus, released by THINKFilm without a rating due to its graphic real sex, took in $121 thousand in just six theatres, a respectable average per theatre of $20 thousand.

Opening in one less theatre, Todd Field's drama Little Children, starring Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson, made $108 thousand its opening weekend.

Last week's royal duo, The Queen starring Helen Mirren and The Last King of Scotland with Forest Whitaker, each added theatres with the former making $400 thousand in 11 theatres and the latter adding $300 thousand in 30. Both films were written by Peter Morgan.

[MacGuffin]

'Grudge 2' Scares Up $22M at Box Office

Early Halloween spirit gripped movie audiences as the fright flick "The Grudge 2" debuted at No. 1, taking in $22 million during its first weekend.

Sony's horror sequel bumped the previous weekend's top film, the Warner Bros. release "The Departed," to second place. "The Departed," a mob epic from Martin Scorsese, took in $18.7 million, lifting its 10-day total to $56.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal's "Man of the Year," with Robin Williams as a political comic who's elected president, opened at No. 3 with $12.55 million.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred in the 2004 hit "The Grudge," returns for a cameo in the sequel, which features Amber Tamblyn as her sister, haunted by the same angry spirits introduced in the first movie.

"The Grudge 2" was not screened for critics beforehand, and those who did review it on opening day generally trashed the movie. Fright flicks tend to have a built-in audience of horror fans who show up opening weekend regardless of reviews.

"These movies are not critics' darlings. They rarely are," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "But audiences love horror. We've said it time and again, this is maybe the most consistently performing genre in the marketplace, especially right before Halloween."

With a strong hold from its opening weekend, "The Departed" is on its way to becoming Scorsese's biggest hit. The film is expected to surpass the $102.6 million gross of his 2004 drama "The Aviator" said Dan Fellman head of distribution for Warner Bros.

Two other new movies debuted in the top 10. The 20th Century Fox action thriller "The Marine," starring pro wrestler John Cena, was No. 6 with $7 million. "One Night With the King," Gener8xion Entertainment's saga of the biblical story of Esther, came in at No. 9 with $4.3 million.

The overall box office soared, with the top 12 movies taking in $100.8 million, up 41 percent from the same weekend last year, when "The Fog" debuted at No. 1 with $11.8 million.

In narrower release, Warner Independent's Truman Capote tale "Infamous" opened weakly with $435,000 in 179 theaters. The film averaged just $2,430 a cinema, compared to an average of $6,851 in 3,211 theaters for "The Grudge 2."

The movie, starring British actor Toby Jones as Capote on his quest to write the true-crime classic "In Cold Blood," received good reviews but was lost in the wake of last year's acclaimed "Capote," which covered the same period in the author's life and earned the best-actor Academy Award for Philip Seymour Hoffman.

"Unfortunately, the audience couldn't differentiate between the two," said Steven Friedlander, head of distribution for Warner Independent. "We're hoping if this one doesn't pick up theatrically, it can find a really solid video life so people can compare the two films."

1. "The Grudge 2," $22 million.
2. "The Departed," $18.7 million.
3. "Man of the Year," $12.55 million.
4. "Open Season," $11 million.
5. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," $7.75 million.
6. "The Marine," $7 million.
7. "The Guardian" $5.85 million.
8. "Employee of the Month," $5.6 million.
9. "One Night With the King," $4.3 million.
10. "Jackass Number Two," $3.3 million.