Film Weekend Per Screen Total
1 The Social Network $15,500,000 (-30.9%) $5,594 $46,069,000
2 Life as We Know It $14,635,000 $4,646 $14,635,000
3 Secretariat $12,600,000 $4,102 $12,600,000
4 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole $7,015,000 (-35.6%) $2,175 $39,401,000
5 My Soul to Take $6,919,000 $2,690 $6,919,000
6 The Town $6,350,000 (-34.9%) $2,335 $73,787,000
7 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps $4,625,000 (-53.8%) $1,635 $43,667,000
8 Easy A $4,200,000 (-37.8%) $1,475 $48,139,000
9 Case 39 $2,630,000 (-50.8%) $1,189 $9,600,000
10 You Again $2,474,000 (-56.8%) $1,061 $20,731,000

This just in: A unearned sense of entitlement.

As I said on Friday, it was important for The Social Network to hold well, and here we are with the second weekend in a row of being the #1 film in America. This was important to Sony – as I keep saying – to assure that it is seen as a success and puts the film in a position where it may yet get to $100 Million. This also means that by the end of next weekend it should be over $60 Million so it’s in a good place to limp its way to nine digits. The film has to also weather the non-controversies about its truthiness and its portrayal of the ladies. I got into it with Jen Yamato and Todd Gilhchrist on our show on Geekweek.com on Monday cause I think being annoyed with the portrayal of women is missing the point (something Alison Willmore said as well here). Making the Oscar ten cut seems guaranteed, now it’s all about trying to be the winner without becoming the “front-runner.” Sony remembers Dreamgirls, etc. The good news is that Clint Eastwood shouldn’t be a challenge. 

Life as We Know It opened the best of the three newcomers. It’s going to have trouble doing more than $40. Secretariat could do better in the scheme of things. It’s got to find its audience, but its appeal is not teenagers, so it could have longer legs. But I doubt it, I think it’s a misfire. My Soul to Take is an opening weekend picture so – like Let Me In – it could conceivably be out of the top ten next weekend. Ouch for Let Me In. I guess a Steven King endorsement only helps so much. My Soul to Take is supposedly TERRIBLE, but I’m going to wait for Blu-ray. Or Phil Blankenship from The New Beverly to show it at midnight. One or the other.

The Owl Movie cracked the top five, so it does over $50 Million domestically. Whoo-hoo. Zack Snyder’s on Superman, I don’t think he could lose that at this point. We’re five months out from Sucker Punch, as long as he’s deep in pre-production on the next thing, I don’t think there will be a course correction. That is to say, he’s still golden – all things. But this film has to be a little disappointing. This film feels like Warner briefly saying “we can date other people,” and then seeing the tail Snyder was attracting, suggested they get engaged.

The Town is still a motherfucker, and I’m happy about that. Wall Street is not an embarrassment, but Fox has been off their game this year (Avatar threw them, it seems). Easy A is getting to $50 Million, Case 39 is doing acceptable considering, and You Again is not disastrous, but not good.

It’s a bad weekend for movies, period, though the Oscar season really kicks into gear next weekend when Jackass 3-D opens. October is really light this year. It’s going to be slow going until Harry Potter 7.1. But I’ll be here. Waiting. Watching. And probably looking at Internet videos of cats.