
The hunger for family film fare was evident at the box office this past weekend as Disney’s
Last week’s winner Eagle Eye, directed by D.J. Caruso who is slated to helm the screen adaptation of Y: The Last Man, slipped just 39.3% and earned an estimated $17.7 million, while bringing its cumulative to nearly $55 million in just ten days.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (Studio Estimates): October 3-5, 2008
| Film | Weekend Gross | Screens | Avg./Screen |
1 | Beverly Hills Chihuahua | $29,000,000 | 3,215 | $9,020 |
2 | Eagle Eye | $17,700,000 | 3,516 | $5,034 |
3 | Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist | $12,000,000 | 2,421 | $4,957 |
4 | Nights in Rodanthe | $7,355,000 | 2,702 | $2,722 |
5 | Appaloosa | $5,015,000 | 1,045 | $4,799 |
6 | Lakeview Terrace | $4,500,000 | 2,574 | $1,748 |
7 | Burn After Reading | $4,083,000 | 2,397 | $1,703 |
8 | Fireproof | $4,069,000 | 852 | $4,776 |
9 | An American Carol | $3,810,000 | 1,639 | $2,325 |
10 | Religulous | $3,500,000 | 502 | $6,972 |
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, which stars Michael Cera, who will play Scott Pilgrim in the adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s popular graphic novel series, earned an estimated $12 million, which was good enough for third place. While the film’s $12 million opening was excellent for a movie that cost just $14 million to make, it was still somewhat disappointing considering the hipster cache that this film, which has 72% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, has acquired.
Six films opened in more than a thousand theaters creating a veritable log jam of debuting films, but only three made it into the top ten. Aside from Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist the only other widely released new film to make the top ten was the rightwing, anti-Michael