HOLLYWOOD - The in-laws just won't go away.The comedy sequel Meet the Fockers stayed on top for a third week in a row with a $28.5 million take while the ghost thriller White Noise opened in the second spot with $24 million. Oscar-baiter The Aviator rounded out the top three with $7.6 million.
"The end of the year was stronger than expected, so headed into the first of the year, we have some momentum going," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. "Studios just need to keep the momentum in the market place, because once you lose it, it takes a long time to get back."
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $98.2 million, down 20.62 percent from last weekend's $123.8 million take but up 8 percent from last year's draw of $91 million.
The top three films at the box office this time last year were: New Line's PG-13 rated The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, stayed at No. 1 for the fourth week with $14.2 million in 3,532 theaters, averaging $4,023 per theater; Sony Pictures PG-13 rated Big Fish, which opened in second place with $13.8 million in 2,281 theaters, averaging $6,055 per theater; and 20th Century Fox's PG-rated Cheaper By the Dozen, which dropped to third place in its fifth week with $11.7 million in 3,238 theaters, averaging $3,629 per theater.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Meet the Fockers (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $28.5 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,527 (+3)
• Per-theater average: $8,081
• Cume to date: $204.3 million
No. 2: White Noise (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $24 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,261
• Per-theater average: $10,615
No. 3: The Aviator (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.6 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1867 (+71)
• Per-theater average: $4,087
• Cume to date: $42.9 million
No. 4: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Paramount, PG)
• Gross: $7.4 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,343 (-280)
• Per-theater average: $2,214
• Cume to date: $105.5 million
No. 5: Fat Albert (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $6 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,675 (-69)
• Per-theater average: $2,243
• Cume to date: $41.2 million
No. 6: Ocean's Twelve (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $5.4 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 3,010 (-280)
• Per-theater average: $1,794
• Cume to date: $115.4 million
No. 7: National Treasure (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-34%)
• Weeks opened: 8
• Theaters: 2,177 (-105)
• Per-theater average: $2,054
• Cume to date: $160.7 million
No. 8: Spanglish (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-29%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,587 (+98)
• Per-theater average: $1,701
• Cume to date: $37.6 million
No. 9: Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $3.4 million (-28%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 622 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $5,523
• Cume to date: $21.5 million
No. 10: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Buena Vista, R)
• Gross: $2.6 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,105 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,414
• Cume to date: $19.3 million