"It just goes to show, you make them laugh, and they'll come," Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, told The Associated Press. The studio kicked off Hollywood's big summer with a record-breaking debut weekend of $151.1 million for Spider-Man 3 in early May. "To start the summer with Spider-Man and end it like this is an absolute blast."
As for the other openers this weekend, Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean's Holiday debuted in fourth place with $10.1 million, while the Jet Li-Jason Statham actioner War opened in fifth with $10 million. The sixth place opener was The Nanny Diaries, starring Scarlett Johansson, which premiered with $7.8 million.
Movies will have grossed about $4.15 billion by the time the season ends on Labor Day, up 8 percent from last summer, estimated Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.
"Whether it be sequels, originals, comedies, action movies or whatever, this particular mix of films brought audiences in a record-breaking way," Dergarabedian told AP. "We still have to temper that with the fact that the number of tickets sold is nowhere near a record."
The Top 12 movies took in $90.2 million, up 7.28 percent from last year’s total of $84 million but down 20.87 percent from last weekend’s total of $114 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year: Buena Vista’s Invincible, which opened at No. 1 with $17 million in 2,917 theaters, averaging $5,839 per theater; Sony’s Talladega Nights , which stayed in second place in its third week with $8.1 million in 3,370 theaters, averaging $2,410 per theater; and Fox Searchlight's Little Miss Sunshine, which jumped up to third place in its fifth week with $7.3 million in 1,430 theaters, averaging $5,155 per theater (Click here to read last year's box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Superbad (Sony, R)
• Gross: $18 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,948 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $6,106
• Cume to date: $68.5 million
No. 2: The Bourne Supremacy (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $12.3 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,679 (-22)
• Per-theater average: $3,360
• Cume to date: $185.1 million
No. 3: Rush Hour 3 (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $12.2 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,408 (-370)
• Per-theater average: $3,594
• Cume to date: $109 million
No. 4: Mr. Bean's Holiday (Universal, G)
• Gross: $10.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,714
• Per-theater average: $5,905
No. 5: War (Lionsgate, R)
• Gross: $10 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,277
• Per-theater average: $4,392
No. 6: The Nanny Diaries (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,629
• Per-theater average: $2,971
No. 7: The Simpsons Movie (Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,600 (-562)
• Per-theater average: $1,692
• Cume to date: $173.4 million
No. 8: Stardust (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.9 million (-30%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,339 (-226)
• Per-theater average: $1,690
• Cume to date: $26.4 million
No. 9: Hairspray (New Line, PG)
• Gross: $3.4 million (-23%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,016 (-373)
• Per-theater average: $1,711
• Cume to date: $107.4 million
No. 10: The Invasion (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $3.1 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,776 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,131
• Cume to date: $11.5 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Resurrecting the Champ (Yari Film Group, PG-13)
• Gross: $1.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,605
• Per-theater average: $1,152
Illegal Tender (Universal, R)
• Gross: $1.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 512
• Per-theater average: $2,805
September Dawn (Slowhand Releasing, R)
• Gross: $600,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 857
• Per-theater average: $700
