The Whos have it again! Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who, the animated adaptation of the beloved children’s book, remained on the top of the North American box office for a second straight weekend with $25.1 million.
Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns debuted in a strong second place with $20 million. It was the latest success for writer-director and co-star Perry, whose past hits include Madea’s Family Reunion and Why Did I Get Married?.
“You kind of know what you’re going to get with Tyler Perry, and that’s a good thing,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, told The Associated Press. “You want to be in business with this guy because he’s going to make you money every time.”
As for the other newcomers this weekend, horror film Shutter, opened in third place with $10.7 million, while Owen Wilson‘s comedy Drillbit Taylor debuted in fourth place with $10.2 million.
The acclaimed Under the Same Moon, a border tale about a Mexican boy trying to reunite with his mother in the United States, premiered in 10th place with $2.6 million, a record opening weekend for a Spanish-language film.
The Top 12 movies took in $98.8 million, down 18.51 percent from the same weekend last year with $121.2 million and down 6.64 percent from last weekend’s total of $105.8 million. The top three openers this same weekend last year were: TMNT, which opened at No. 1 with $24.2 million; 300, which dropped to second place in its third week with $19.8 million; and Shooter, which opened in third place with $14.5 million.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES (Source by: Media by Numbers)
No. 1: Horton Hears a Who (20th Century, G)
• Gross: $25.1 million (-44%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,961 (+7)
• Per-theater average: $6,337
• Cume to date: $86.4 million
No. 2: Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns (Lionsgate, PG-13)
• Gross: $20 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,006
• Per-theater average: $9,975
No. 3: Shutter (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,753
• Per-theater average: $3,887
No. 4: Drillbit Taylor (Paramoung, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,056
• Per-theater average: $3,338
No. 5: 10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $8.6 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,454 (+44)
• Per-theater average: $2,507
• Cume to date: $76.1 million
No. 6: Never Back Down (Summit Entertainment, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.8 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,729 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,781
• Cume to date: $16.8 million
No. 7: College Road Trip (Disney, G)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,575 (-131)
• Per-theater average: $1,798
• Cume to date: $32 million
No. 8: The Bank Job (Lionsgate, R)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-19%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,613
• Per-theater average: $2,542
• Cume to date: $19.4 million
No. 9: Vantage Point (Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.8 million (-30%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,124 (-637)
• Per-theater average: $1,789
• Cume to date: $65.2 million
No. 10: Under the Same Moon (Fox Searchlight, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 266
• Per-theater average: $9,774
OTHER OPENINGS
The Grand (Anchor Bay Ent., R)
• Gross: $16,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $8,000
