Older moviegoers propelled the Liam Neeson-starring chase thriller Unknown to the top of the 3-day weekend with an estimated $21.7 million, but Disney’s Gnomeo and Juliet could end up in the top spot for the full four-day Presidents Day weekend. D.J. Caruso’s I Am Number Four debuted somewhat disappointingly in second place with an estimated $19.5 million followed by holdover Gnomeo and Juliet with $19.4 million in third place. The Adam Sandler/Jennifer Anniston romcom, Just Go With It finished fourth ($18.2 million) followed by Martin Lawrence’s Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son ($17 million) and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in the sixth spot ($13.6 million).

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): February 18 - 20, 2011
	Film	Weekend Gross	Screens	Avg./ Screen	Total Gross	Wk#
1	Unknown	$21,770,000	3,043	$7,154	$21,770,000	1
2	I Am Number Four	$19,500,000	3,154	$6,183	$19,500,000	1
3	Gnomeo and Juliet	$19,400,000	3,014	$6,437	$50,421,000	2
4	Just Go With It	$18,200,000	3,548	$5,130	$60,756,000	2
5	Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son	$17,000,000	2,821	$6,026	$17,000,000	1
6	Justin Bieber: Never Say Never	$13,600,000	3,118	$4,362	$48,473,000	2
7	The King's Speech	$6,566,000	2,086	$3,148	$103,278,000	13
8	The Roommate	$4,100,000	2,160	$1,898	$32,694,000	3
9	The Eagle	$3,559,000	2,296	$1,550	$15,041,000	2
10	No Strings Attached	$3,120,000	1,966	$1,587	$66,033,000	5

 

Unknown is attempting to follow in the hugely successful footsteps of Taken, which also starred Liam Neeson and earned $145 million in Q1 of 2008. The 58-year-old Neeson definitely has an appeal to older movie fans. 89% of the opening weekend audience for Unknown was over 25, and a whopping 54% was over 50. Since older moviegoers are the least motivated demographic to see a movie during its debut frame, and Unknown received a solid “B+” grade, the film has a chance to reprise Taken’s lengthy box office run.

 

Caruso’s I Am Number Four is based on a popular young adult novel by Pittacus Lore (James Frey and Jobie Hughes), the first volume in a projected six book series about a teenage alien who is hiding on earth from another race of aliens determined to hunt them down. With its teenage romance between a normal girl and an alien, this saga resembles the formula of the hugely successful Twilight series (substitute “vampire” for “alien”), though the emphasis in I Am Number Four is on the alien boy rather than on the human girl. While I Am Number Four opened well below expectations, it did appeal to younger viewers (68% were between 12 and 34) and it did receive an “A-“ CinemaScore from patrons under 25. So, while it is clearly no Twilight, don’t be surprised if I Am Number Four hangs around the cineplexes for some time.

 

The success of I Am Number Four does matter to comic fans since, if the film does recover from its slow opening and become successful, it would certainly help Caruso in his quest to make a film based on Garth Ennis’ Preacher comics. The director is very excited about the potential of a Preacher movie, but the Preacher’s subject matter is controversial enough, and the film has been languishing in developmental hell long enough that it will definitely take someone with considerable clout to get the film made.

 

Gnomeo and Juliet may end up as the 4-day weekend winner because it will benefit from the Monday holiday for school kids. The family-oriented movie, which slipped just 23.5% from its opening frame, nearly doubled its Friday total on Saturday and should do well again on Monday.

 

Bad reviews and a generic title haven’t kept the Adam Sandler romcom Just Go With It from passing the $60 million mark in just ten days. In contrast to Just Go With It, which dropped 40%, the 3D concert movie Justin Bieber: Never Say Never fell 54% from its opening weekend total.

 

The Oscar-likely The King’s Speech suffered the smallest decline in the top 10, falling just 9.2%, while the Roman Legion period drama The Eagle posted the steepest drop of 59%.