It’s all in the spoof. The latest comedy send-up Epic Movie–which pokes fun at anything from The Chronicles of Narnia to Borat–opened in the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with $19 million.
“It seems these teen audiences have just this insatiable appetite for these spoofs,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers told The Associated Press. “They are economically sensible. It’s just a license to make money for the studio.”
The dark comedy Smokin’ Aces, starring Jeremy Piven and long list of actors, debuted in second place with $14.3 million. And while the everlasting Night at the Museum came in third with another $9.5 million, the new Jennifer Garner dramedy, Catch and Release, opened in fourth with $8 million.
The Top 12 movies grossed $89.2 million over the weekend, down 10.92 percent from last year’s draw of $100.1 million and up 24.48 percent from last weekend’s total of $71.6 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: 20th Century Fox’s Big Momma’s House 2, which opened at No. 1 with $27.7 million in 3,261 theaters, averaging $8,505 per theater; Universal’s Nanny McPhee, which opened in second place with $14.5 million in 1,995 theaters, averaging $7,270 per theater; and Sony’s Underworld: Evolution, which dropped to third place in its second week with $11.4 million in 3,207 theaters, averaging $3,556 per theater (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Epic Movie (20th Cent Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $19.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,801
• Per-theater average: $6,855
No. 2: Smokin’ Aces (Universal, R)
• Gross: $14.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,218
• Per-theater average: $6,430
No. 3: Night at the Museum (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $9.4 million (-21%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 3,241 (-242)
• Per-theater average: $2,916
• Cume to date: $216.7 million
No. 4: Catch and Release (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,622
• Per-theater average: $4,932
No. 5: Stomp the Yard (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.8 million (-37%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,115 (+64)
• Per-theater average: $3,688
• Cume to date: $50.6 million
No. 6: Dreamgirls (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.6 million (-17%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 2,785 (+571)
• Per-theater average: $2,376
• Cume to date: $86.6 million
No. 7: The Pursuit of Happyness (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $5 million (-21%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 2,688 (-378)
• Per-theater average: $1,860
• Cume to date: $152.9 million
No. 8: Pan’s Labyrinth (Picturehouse, R)
• Gross: $4.7 million (+6%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 823 (+214)
• Per-theater average: $5,772
• Cume to date: $16.5 million
No. 9: The Queen (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $4 million (+18%)
• Weeks opened: 18
• Theaters: 1,830 (+244)
• Per-theater average: $2,186
• Cume to date: $41.2 million
No. 10: The Hitcher (Focus Features, R)
• Gross: $3.5 million
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,836 (+1)
• Per-theater average: $1,269
• Cume to date: $13.3million
OTHER OPENINGS
Seraphim Falls (Samuel Goldwyn, R)
• Gross: $153,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 52
• Per-theater average: $2,942
Breaking and Entering (Weinstein Co, R)
• Gross: $21,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $10,500
