And Then God Said, "My Bad, James Cameron, You Were Here First"
The Weekend Box-Office Round-Up /
William Goss
Box Office Round-Ups | January 18, 2010 | Comments (9)
You know, when that Martin Luther King fella was fighting for equal rights, I’m not sure that he had the foresight to hope that blue-hued aliens would be welcomed by the masses. Like it or not, they have, as Avatar took yet another weekend with $54.6 million over the four-day stretch and reached half a billion dollars total in the States alone, poised now to take over second-place as the all-time box-office leader, surpassing The Dark Knight by next week.
There was no shortage of black leaders, though, as Denzel Washington’s The Book of Eli opened well in second place with $38 million. It’s the actor’s best opening since 2007’s American Gangster — without the help of Russell Crowe, I might add — and it’s already outgrossed the entire theatrical run of the Hughes Brothers’ last film, 2001’s From Hell (although few films did well in the immediate wake of 9/11 — scratch that, Denzel’s Training Day did).
Despite the bad buzz and screener leaks, Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lovely Bones placed surprisingly well with $20.5 million. Despite being awful, The Squeakquel clung on in fourth place with $15 million and bested Jackie Chan’s family-friendly outing, The Spy Next Door, which opened in fifth to $13 million. That’s Chan’s worst opening since 2004’s Around the World in 80 Days, with $13 million; expect him to reunite with Chris Tucker or Owen Wilson any day now.
Sherlock Holmes took sixth place with $11.7 million ($180 million overall), It’s Complicated stuck around in seventh with $9.1 million, Leap Year held on right behind it with $6.9 million, Up in the Air wound up ninth with $6.6 million, and The Blind Side wrapped up the top ten with $6.5 million. On a side note, I think it’s a minor shame that Daybreakers has already slipped out of the top ten — it’s better than much other genre fare that gets dumped on us (see: next weekend’s laughable-looking Legion), a bit brainier than it should be and certainly bloody enough to please those looking for decent action-horror. After all, didn’t MLK Jr. dream that one day we might embrace vampires that didn’t sparkle?
Comments
Posted by: George at January 18, 2010 5:31 PM
It's really not fair in a way, The Dark Knight had actual competition in its box office run, granted, the movies it was up against were mostly terrible, but they had good marketing buzz. Look at the crap Avatar is up against; CGI Chipmunks, a spiritual successor to The Pacifier, the worlds worst romantic comedy, and Michael Cera as Michael Cera in Michael Cera VIII.