The hunger for family film fare was evident at the box office this past weekend as Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua exceeded expectations and took the box office crown with an estimated total of $29 million.  The canine-centric movie provided Disney with its best October opening ever, and help push the weekend box office 37% above the same frame last year.  Hollywood’s strong performance so far in 2008 has analysts branding the movie industry “counter-cyclical.”

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

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 Moore comedy An American Carol that finished in ninth place with an estimated $3.8 million.  But An American Carol averaged only $2,235 per venue for over 1,600 locations, while leftwing satirist Bill Maher’s acerbic take on organized religion, Religulous earned an estimated $3.5 million at just 500 locations for a strong $6,972 per theater average.