Never underestimate the power of veteran actors. The Jack Nicholson–Morgan Freeman dramedy The Bucket List knocked reigning champ National Treasure: Book of Secrets off its throne, debuting at No. 1 at the North American box office with $19.5 million.
“This was definitely a win for the older audience,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, told The Associated Press of the movie, which stars 70-year-old actors Nicholson and Freeman. “The conventional wisdom is the younger audience drives the box office.”
The comedy First Sunday, starring Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan, opened in a close second with $19 million. “These two films appealed to different audiences and both did very well,” Dergarabedian said. “January is not known as a hot month for box office.”
Other newcomers this weekend included the latest VeggieTales installment Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, which debuted in ninth place with $4.4 million, and the fantasy adventure In the Name of the King, starring Jason Statham, which failed to make the top 10 list with $3.2 million.
The Top 12 movies took in $108.7 million, up 11.76 percent from last year’s $97.3 million on the same weekend but down 35.48 percent from last weekend’s total of $168.6 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year: Sony’s Stomp the Yard, which opened at No. 1 with $21.8 million in 2,051 theaters, averaging $10,645 per theater; Fox’s Night at the Museum, which dropped to second place in its fourth week with $17.1 million in 3,612 theaters, averaging $4,751 per theater; and Sony’s The Pursuit of Happyness, which dropped to third place in its fifth week of release with $8.9 million in 3,169 theaters, averaging $2,809 per theater (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Bucket List (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $19.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,879
• Per-theater average: $6,750
No. 2: First Sunday (Sony/Screen Gems., PG-13)
• Gross: $19 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,213
• Per-theater average: $8,586
No. 3: Juno (Fox Searchlight, PG-13)
• Gross: $14 million (-12%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,448 (+523)
• Per-theater average: $5,719
• Cume to date: $71.2 million
No. 4: National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Walt Disney, PG)
• Gross: $11.4 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,377 (-385)
• Per-theater average: $3,400
• Cume to date: $187.2 million
No. 5: Alvin and the Chipmunks (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $9.1 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 3,384 (-78)
• Per-theater average: $2,689
• Cume to date: $187.7 million
No. 6: I Am Legend (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $8.1 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 3,353 (-295)
• Per-theater average: $2,425
• Cume to date: $240.2 million
No. 7: One Missed Call (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $6.1 million (-51%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,240 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,737
No. 8: P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $5 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,323 (-148)
• Per-theater average: $2,155
• Cume to date: $47 million
No. 9: Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (Universal, G)
• Gross: $4.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,337
• Per-theater average: $3,305
No. 10: Atonement (Focus Features, R)
• Gross: $4.2 million (-15%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 950 (+367)
• Per-theater average: $4,526
• Cume to date: $25.2 million
OTHER OPENINGS
In the Name of the King (Freestyle Releasing., PG-13)
• Gross: $3.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,631
• Per-theater average: $2,002
