Kevin James, who endeared himself to a broad audience on the TV sitcom King of Queens, topped the big screen box office for the second week in a row as Sony took the top two spots, the first time a studio has accomplished that feat in over a year.  James’ Paul Blart: Mall Cop has established itself as the first surprise hit of 2009 with an estimated take of $21.5 million in its sophomore session, a drop of only 32.5%.  Paul Blart nosed out the third Underworld film, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which debuted with an estimated $20.7 million.  Overall the box office topped previous year totals for the fifth week in a row, with 2009 ticket sales now 13% over 2008.

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): January 23-25

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans’ opening was on a par with the debut of the first Underworld film, which brought in $21.8 million in 2003, but below Underworld Evolution’s $26.9 million bow in 2006.  Still, since the third Underworld film is the first without star Kate Beckinsale and director Len Wiseman, its performance was better than predicted.  It earned a “B+” CinemaScore from its audience, which was 59% male and 55% over 25.  The demographic it attracted could bode well for IDW’s graphic novel adaptation, which is in stores now.

Awards season is in full swing and Oscar nominations definitely helped Slumdog Millionaire, which moved up to #5 (and posted the highest per screen average in the top ten), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which slipped back into the top ten at #9.  Other Oscar-nominated films, The Wrestler, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, and Milk managed increases, but Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, which was shut out by the Academy, also performed very well, dropping only 27% and earning an estimated $16 million while finishing in third place.  Gran Torino has earned $97.5 million so far and is certain to become the highest grossing film in the iconic star and director’s career.

My Bloody Valentine 3D brought in an estimated $10 million in its second frame, a drop of 52%--a rather modest decline for a horror film these days.  So far the film has earned $37.7 million in just two weeks.  Holdover Hotel for Dogs from Paramount/Dreamworks finished in fourth place in its second weeks with an estimated $12.3 million, easily vanquishing its competition for the PG family audience, Warner Bros.’ fantasy Inkheart, which debuted at #7 with an estimated total of $7.7 million.

Warner Bros. also re-released Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight in 350 locations including 143 Imax screens (see “Dark Knight Re-Release Set for Jan. 23rd”).  The Dark Knight earned 8 Oscar nominations, though not the key “Best Picture” or “Best Director” nods, and added $670,000 to its mammoth cumulative over the weekend.