Fending off a handful of newcomers this past weekend was "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and the family-friendly confection proved to have some serious staying power at the box office. The Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration pulled in an estimated $28.3 million in its sophomore session, thereby snagging the #1 spot for two consecutive weekends.
The #2 position also went to a second-weekend hanger-on: New Line’s "Wedding Crashers," with an additional $26.2 million in the coffers. And in a rather surprising turn of events, "Fantastic Four" also beat out the newcomers, landing in 3rd place with a third weekend tally of $12.3 million.
The highest newcomers on the list? Michael Bay‘s "The Island," which came in fourth with a disappointing $12.1 million, and Richard Linklater‘s "Bad News Bears," which closed out the top 5 with $11.5 million.
Debuting on considerably fewer screens were Craig Brewer‘s "Hustle & Flow" (7th place, $8.1 million) and Rob Zombie‘s "The Devil’s Rejects" (8th place, $7 million). So ultimately it was a weekend for people to go see what they wanted to see, and not necessarily what was newest — and next weekend looks like it could be more of the same.
In wide release comes the romantic comedy "Must Love Dogs," the high-tech arial thriller "Stealth," and the super-hero family flick "Sky High." And in limited release is "The Aristocrats," which might be the next indie (after the surpisingly potent "March of the Penguins") to hit it big on the word-of-mouth circuit.
For a closer look at all the weekend numbers (and more!), please do stop by the Rotten Tomatoes Box Office Page.
