The Rock’s strategic Game Plan worked. His Disney family comedy opened in the top spot at the North American box office this weekend, grossing $22.6 million.
The weekend had looked like it would be a showdown between The Game Plan and the Middle East thriller The Kingdom, which stars Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner as members of a U.S. team investigating a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom, however, fell just slightly short, debuting in second place with $17.6 million.
“There was definitely pent-up demand for people who don’t necessarily want to go to the heavy R-rated films,” Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney told The Associated Press. “The entire general audience has been underserved lately.”
The other new opener, Feast of Love, starring Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear, didn’t quite make the Top 10 list with $1.7 million.
The Top 12 movies took in a total of $76.6 million, down 11.44 percent from last year’s total of $86.4 million and down 3.69 percent from last weekend’s total of $79.5 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year: Sony’s Open Season, which opened at No. 1 with $23.6 million in 3,833 theaters, averaging $6,163 per theater; Buena Vista’s The Guardian, which opened in second place with $18 million in 3,241 theaters, averaging $5,556 per theater; and Paramount’s Jackass: Number Two, which dropped to third in its second week with $14.6 million in 3,063 theaters, averaging $4,768 per theater (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Game Plan (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $22.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,103
• Per-theater average: $7,307
No. 2: The Kingdom (Universal, R)
• Gross: $17.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,793
• Per-theater average: $6,332
No. 3: Resident Evil: Extinction (Sony/Screen Gems, R)
• Gross: $8 million (-66%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,828 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,829
• Cume to date: $36.7 million
No. 4: Good Luck Chuck (Lionsgate, R)
• Gross: $6.3 million (-54%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,612 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,412
• Cume to date: $23.6 million
No. 5: 3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate, R)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,006 (+104)
• Per-theater average: $1,384
• Cume to date: $43.9 million
No. 6: The Brave One (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $3.6 million (-50%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,837 (+82)
• Per-theater average: $1,299
• Cume to date: $30.8 million
No. 7: Mr. Woodcock (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $3 million (-39%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,195 (-42)
• Per-theater average: $1,367
• Cume to date: $19.6 million
No. 8: Eastern Promises (Focus Features, R)
• Gross: $2.8 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,408 (+4)
• Per-theater average: $2,054
• Cume to date: $11.2 million
No. 9: Sydney White (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.6 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,106 (+2)
• Per-theater average: $1,258
• Cume to date: $8.5 million
No. 10: Across the Universe (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $ 2 million (+5%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 339 (+63)
• Per-theater average: $6,047
• Cume to date: $5.5 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Feast of Love (MGM, R)
• Gross: $1.7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,200
• Per-theater average: $1,462
The Darjeeling Limited (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $140,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $70,000
Trade (Roadside Attraction, R)
• Gross: $115,00
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 90
• Per-theater average: $1,278
Lust, Caution (Focus, NC-17)
• Gross: $61,688
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1
• Per-theater average: $61,688
Sharkwater (Freestyle Releasing, NR)
• Gross: $35,400
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 60
• Per-theater average: $590
