Film Weekend Per Screen Total
1 Up $44,244,000 (-35.0%) $11,588 $137,316,000
2 The Hangover $43,275,000 $13,238 $43,275,000
3 Land of the Lost $19,524,000 $5,545 $19,524,000
4 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $14,650,000 (-39.8%) $3,848 $127,341,000
5 Star Trek $8,400,000 (-33.4%) $2,623 $222,802,000
6 Terminator Salvation $8,175,000 (-50.3%) $2,474 $105,495,000
7 Drag Me to Hell $7,342,000 (-53.6%) $2,925 $28,534,000
8 Angels & Demons $6,500,000 (-42.7%) $2,222 $116,125,000
9 My Life in Ruins $3,225,000 $2,771 $3,225,000
10 Dance Flick $2,000,000 (-57.8%) $1,172 $22,667,000

This just in: I’d like to offer a correction. Bernardo Bertolucci’s Partner is available in America on DVD, but it appears to be out of print. Netflix has it, as I’ve been informed. Also, correction, the reporting that lead me to suggest Ed Asner is a Post-op Transsexual is plainly and demonstrably wrong. I don’t want to say how he proved it, but there you are.

Though Up took the weekend, the story is that The Hangover exceeded all expectations. There was a rumble it could be a breakout hit, but the lack of names, and the hard R nature of the film suggested a glass ceiling. Well, like someone on a drunken tear in a glass house, some shit got broke, and it’s raining glass. Perhaps in the next couple we will see that Bradley Cooper gets his Green Lantern, or one of the four other major roles he’s rumored for, though I don’t know if Mr. Zach Galifianakis translates to a starring player as some may find that this is the perfect iteration of this character – the man walks away with the film, and for that there will be some reward. But Todd Phillips comes out looking like a genius on this one, and Warner Brothers can now save a little face on their start of summer. Terminator may have cost $200ish, but it should do some business internationally, and there’s always ancillaries. The Hangover will be in profit shortly. Or at least will be if marketing costs aren’t included. Warners spent a pretty penny to get word out, did some advance screenings, and drummed up interest. We are now in an industry where word of mouth has to kick in by the time a film opens if it hopes to succeed. But word is out, and with some weak competition for the next two weeks, the film should have no problems getting past $100 (should be around $70 by the end of next weekend).

The Hangover had a killer premise and trailer, Land of the Lost had a name that for most people under thirty meant very little, and had marketing that shit the bed. Will Ferrell is a brand name, but he means you get about $15 million even if the film looks like Semi-Pro. Ironically, the film is actually pretty funny and “out there” for a PG-13 comedy, but I think the fidelity to Chaka and the Sleestaks may have lead people to ask “WTF is this S?” Universal couldn’t sell it as “Will Ferrell in Jurassic Park” because there’s not that much of that, instead they tried to sell family, so they left out a lot of the jokes that make the film work. Drag Me to Hell was likely cheap if Sam Raimi took a more back-end centric deal, but Lost is a film that will now struggle to do much past $50. It sounds like The B Team is about to go, and I don’t think this will be too much of a black eye, but I was hoping Danny McBride would be in something like a hit where he had a bigger role. But it’s not like he isn’t working. It’s likely that someone had to make a Sid and Marty Krofft movie, and now they have. I guess this means no big screen Lidsville. Damn.

Up is doing super-kick-ass business (super kick-ass). $200 is not going to be a question, but next week should show how much more it’s got in it. The film only dropped 35%, so that’s amazing in and of itself. Like Star Trek, it looks like audiences have connected to it. Whereas Night at the Museum is going to do a little wiggling to get past $150. That’s not terrible for a messy strike picture, but – unless they get a Jonah Hill-inspired spin off for the third film, I don’t think it’s a franchise. Terminator only dropped 50% this week, so it got over $100. Guess it’ll top out around $120-ish, which is also likely where The Hangover will get to, unless it shits the bed next weekend. Seeing as how The Hangover only dipped 10% for its Saturday, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem ($150 is unlikely).

Star Trek is still playing strong, but it’s also on over 3000 screens. Paramount has another picture next weekend, and Trek will be at week six then, so it’s going to be losing more visible screens (I’m guessing outside of some competitive markets it has no more second prints). The question is: what will be shook loose? Angels and Demons is also still near 3000 as well. Trek is in the per screen region of Terminator, Angels and Demons, and Drag Me to Hell. The question is: what stays? My guess is that Trek loses at least 500 runs nationally, mostly because Paramount’s also got Imagine That next week. Then again, Dance Flick is still in 1700 locations, so that could be their sacrifice in a lot of locations.

You look at that $116 million on Angels and Demons? That’s not a great number, all things. The film, though, is nearing $400 worldwide. Zing!

Drag Me to Hell needed some love, but Sam Raimi’s cult following doesn’t transcend being a cult following. The ads on this one didn’t hook a lot of people, as horror – like comedy – either gets you in or doesn’t. That’s too bad on a number of levels, but Universal would have been overjoyed with a number like $60, so I can’t imagine this is a complete loss. The film should get to $40, but that’s about it. 

Nia Vardalos has had her shots at recapturing the My Big Fat Greek magic. Rednecks prefer being called “sons of the soil.” In both cases, not going to happen. For the past two weeks I’ve gone to the theater for new film double features. Next week, also not going to happen, unless I double feature Tetro and Moon.