Not even remotely surprising is the fact that the new Natalie Portman action epic "V for Vendetta" was #1 at the weekend box office, as it’s a title that’s been talked up and touted for about half a year now. The $50+ million project opened a few months later than expected, but it still did so in fairly impressive fashion. The Wachowski/WB production hauled in an estimated $26.1 million from 3,300 theaters, giving "Vendetta" the #1 spot by more than 10 million bucks.
Clocking in at second place was Paramount’s rom-com "Failure to Launch," which added an extra $15.8 million to its $48.4 million total. Third place went to another hanger-on, the Disney remake "The Shaggy Dog." The mutt made another $13.6 million, putting its total right around $35.8 million.
A first-weekend newcomer hit the scene in fourth place: DreamWorks’ gender-switch teen-com "She’s the Man" made about $11 million from 2,600 theaters. Rounding out the top 5 was Searchlight’s "The Hills Have Eyes," which tumbled nearly 50% from last week. ($8m weekend; $28.7m total)
Limited releasers saw some good news and some bad news. Fox Searchlight’s "Thank You for Smoking" debuted in five theaters and earned $52,000 per, while Sidney Lumet‘s "Find Me Guilty" showed up in 439 theaters and made only $1,430 per. Yowch.
Next weekend’s big releases include Universal’s crime thriller "Inside Man," Lionsgate’s "Larry the Cable Guy" movie, and Disney’s PG-13 horror flick "Stay Alive."
As always, the Rotten Tomatoes Box Office Page is open and awaiting your perusal.
