| Film | weekend | Per screen | Total | |
| 1 | High School Musical 3: Senior Year | $15,035,000 (-64.2%) | $4,146 | $61,753,000 |
| 2 | Zack and Miri Make a Porno | $10,682,000 | $3,906 | $10,682,000 |
| 3 | Saw V | $10,110,000 (-66.4%) | $3,278 | $45,837,000 |
| 4 | Changeling | $9,407,000 (+1,823.7%) | $5,085 | $10,087,000 |
| 5 | The Haunting of Molly Hartley | $6,009,000 | $2,266 | $6,009,000 |
| 6 | Beverly Hills Chihuahua | $4,747,000 (-31.0%) | $1,580 | $84,061,000 |
| 7 | The Secret Life of Bees | $4,000,000 (-33.9%) | $2,483 | $25,287,000 |
| 8 | Max Payne | $3,700,000 (-52.5%) | $1,443 | $35,550,000 |
| 9 | Eagle Eye | $3,400,000 (-32.7%) | $1,694 | $92,534,000 |
| 10 | Pride & Glory | $3,260,000 (-47.9%) | $1,261 | $11,616,000 |
This just in: Did you know that in less that 48hrs you can vote? It’s true, there’s nowhere you could read this (in America) where you can’t vote in less than two days. And look for the extended one-take shot that Walter Hill snuck in the middle. In another 48hrs… hopefully it will be better than the film based on the novelization.
Halloween was on a Friday, so people had a margin of error Re: Halloween parties of about eight days. People were having Halloween parties last weekend. I saw people in costumes last night. And if you were in Hollywood on Friday, driving was not much of an option. Personally, I had a couple of parties to go to on Friday, but I made decisions based on traffic. Because my neighborhood was at a near standstill. For what? People love Halloween… or most people, that is to say, people who aren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses (and that’s not an insult. As I understand Prince is a JW, and I don’t fuck with Prince. Ever. On anything).
So if the numbers are a bit on the lame side, it’s because on Friday, the numbers were pathetic. Saw V took the day with $3 Million and change. And then numbers picked up again on Saturday, enough so that High School Musical 3 was able to vault itself back to the Number #1 slot. Next weekend should help reset the anemic fall, so the film should get to around $80-ish, which is good enough to suggest that Disney keep making these pictures.
Zack and Miri may have needed a little more oopmh in the jeans to get it done. I was shocked at how lame this weekend was in terms of box office, but it’s also fair to say that Z&M was released by The Weinstein Company, and they have not been on their game since day one. Like Devin, I love the poster for the film, but it may have not done a good job selling the film, and the word was “Kevin Smith’s made a watchable movie again!” That’s not exactly high praise. Still, I thought the Seth Rogen factor would get this over. Does Rogen take a hit? Maybe, maybe not. But – though the film should turn a profit – it has direct competition next week with another factor of the Apatow off-shot gang, and shit it also has Elizabeth Banks in it as well (that being Role Models). Too bad for you. Smith – if TWC folds – may have to find someplace else to peddle his wares.
Saw V took a two-thirds tumble. doesn’t matter, Saw VI will be out sometime next year. Changeling went wide, but the response has suggested this isn’t academy material, and other than Angelina Jolie maybe getting the Oscar nod, this is a done deal, and should top out around $30-ish. Which may be better than Z&M all told.
The Haunting of Molly Hartley got near seven, and should probably finish around $15. I hope it as cheap.Otherwise, it’s just hanging out until next week starts the Fall season and then Bond comes in and does some real business. But we’re looking at a weak-ass Winter season, and though the year is a little better than you thought, it doesn’t change that 2008 is not one of the better years of cinema.