Black Sheep @ The Box Office: Zombieland Livens Up the Box Office

I don't pretend to know what I'm talking about all the time but it was pretty clear to me that ZOMBIELAND was going to do good business this weekend. Industry money was on the third frame of CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and, while the latter is holding up quite strongly, ZOMBIELAND surpassed expectations to claim the weekend. Zombie movie of the week! Having already made more than its reported budget, ZOMBIELAND is showing great signs of life for the weeks ahead.


The double-bill, two-week rerelease of TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2 in 3D played solidly considering the raining meatballs in the next room. $12.5 million is hardly a Pixar-size opening but this is more of a treat than anything else. The rest of the Top 10 news is pretty disappointing. Ricky Gervais keeps trying hard to crack the American audiences but his latest, THE INVENTION OF LYING fizzled in fourth place. Still, that was nothing compared to Drew Barrymore's wipeout it 6th place with her directorial debut, WHIP IT. It's a shame really because it has got great bite. WHIP IT essentially ties Michael Moore's latest "documentary", CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY. One will have to settle for 7th place when the final numbers come in. Moore's movie may have increased almost 2000% over last week but the per screen average dropped for $60K to $5K with this expansion suggesting it won't play much wider than this.


A trio of limited pics pulled in averages in the teens below the Top 10. Increasing over 587% by adding 21 screens, horror flick, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, pulled in an average $16.2K. Basketball documentary, MORE THAN A GAME, debuted to a solid $14K average. And COCO BEFORE CHANEL managed a strong hold in its second week, with a $13K average after adding 11 screens. It was the Coen Brothers' latest, A SERIOUS MAN, though, that scored the best per screen of any film playing, with an average of $42K on just six screens. With serious Oscar buzz for A SERIOUS MAN brewing, its expansion should go a lot better than life does for the protagonist of the film. See it; you'll understand.


NEXT WEEK: COUPLES RETREAT hits 3000 hot spots. TIFF favorites, THE DAMNED UNITED and AN EDUCATION platform. Chris Rock's documentary, GOOD HAIR, hits 200 screens. And the Clive Owen Oscar hopeful, THE BOYS ARE BACK, expands.

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo