V for Vendetta terrorized moviegoers this weekend with a tyrannical take of $26.1 million, making it the No. 1 movie at the North American box office.
The Natalie Portman starrer surpassed last week’s topper Failure to Launch, which came in second place with a still-sturdy $15.8 million. Rounding out the Top Three was Tim Allen’s canine comedy The Shaggy Dog, which took in a fluffy $13.6 million.
In limited release, Vin Diesel’s Find Me Guilty unearthed $628,000 in 439 theaters, while Thank You for Smoking, starring Aaron Eckhart, Robert Duvall and Katie Holmes, took in a smoldering $260,000 in just five theaters.
The Top 12 films this week grossed an estimated $93.8 million, up .5 percent from last weekend’s total of $93.3 million, but down 10.94 percent from last year’s draw of $105.3 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Dreamworks’ R-rated thriller The Ring, which debuted at No. 1 with $35 million in 3,332 theaters, averaging $10,524 per theater; 20th Century Fox’s PG-rated Robots, which came in second place in its second week with $21 million in 3,776 theaters, averaging $5,568 per theaters; Buena Vista’s PG-rated The Pacifier, which remained at the No. 3 spot in its third week of release with $12.5 million in 3,181 theaters, averaging $3,939 per theater (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: V for Vendetta (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $26.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,365
• Per-theater average: $7,767
No. 2: Failure to Launch (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $15.8 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,117 (+60)
• Per-theater average: $5,074
• Cume to date: $48.45 million
No. 3: The Shaggy Dog (Buena Vista., PG)
• Gross: $13.6 million (-16%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,501 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $3,891
• Cume to date: $35.88 million
No. 4: She’s the Man (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $11 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,623
• Per-theater average: $4,198
No. 5: The Hills Have Eyes (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $8 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,621 (+1)
• Per-theater average: $3,071
• Cume to date: $28.7 million
No. 6: 16 Blocks (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $4.7 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,666 (-40)
• Per-theater average: $1,778
• Cume to date: $30.1 million
No. 7: Eight Below (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-25%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,603 (-367)
• Per-theater average: $1,610
• Cume to date: $73.1 million
No. 8: Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion (Lionsgate, PG-13)
• Gross: $3 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,403 (-409)
• Per-theater average: $2,138
• Cume to date: $60.9 million
No. 9: The Pink Panther (Columbia/MGM, PG)
• Gross: $2.5 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 9
• Theaters: 1,852 (-450)
• Per-theater average: $1,350
• Cume to date: $78.6 million
No. 10: Aquamarine (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $2 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 1,869 (-669)
• Per-theater average: $1,083
• Cume to date: $15.6 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Find Me Guilty (Yari Film Group, NR)
• Gross: $628,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 439
• Per-theater average: $1,431
Thank You for Smoking (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $260,066
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $52,013
Don’t Trip… He Ain’t Through with Me Yet! (Freestyle Releasing, NR)
• Gross: $216,060
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 60
• Per-theater average: $3,601
Don’t Come Knocking (SPC, NR)
• Gross: $35,526
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 6
• Per-theater average: $5,921
Don’t Tell (Lions Gate, NR)
• Gross: $14,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $2,800
