Nothing could stop the fun-loving fish at the box office this weekend–not even marionette puppets blowing up terrorists (among other things) or Jennifer Lopez shaking her booty.
DreamWorks’ CGI-animated Shark Tale continued its winning streak for the third week, claiming the top spot with $22.1 million, while the high school football drama Friday Night Lights held onto second place for the second week with $13.1 million.
Team America: World Police, the raucous, raunchy and politically charged puppet parody from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, debuted in third place with $12.3 million, slightly more than their South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which opened in 1999 with $11.3 million.
“Coming out, you want to tell people what you just saw because it’s so unique,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press Sunday about Team America. “Leading up to the election, because it is a rather political movie, if it gets some word of mouth going, it’ll hang in there, no pun intended.”
The ballroom dancing opus Shall We Dance?, starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez, opened in fourth with $11.6 million, while the firefighting drama Ladder 49 rounded out the Top Five with $8.6 million.
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $89.4 million, down 8.17 percent from last weekend’s $97.3 million take and down 13.35 percent from last year’s draw of $103.2 million.
The top three films at the box office this time last year were: New Line’s R-rated Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which debuted at No. 1 with $28 million in 3,016 theaters, averaging $9,315 per theater; Miramax’s R-rated Kill Bill Vol. 1, which came in second in its second week with $12.4million in 3,102 theaters, averaging $4,005 per theater; and 20th Century Fox’s PG-13 rated Runaway Jury, which opened in third place with $11.8 million in 2,815 theaters, averaging $4,205 per theater.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Shark Tale (DreamWorks, PG)
Gross: $22.1 million (-29%)
Weeks opened: 3
Theaters: 3,948 (-122)
Per-theater average: $5,598
Cume to date: $118.8 million
No. 2: Friday Night Lights (Universal, PG-13)
Gross: $13.1 million (-35%)
Weeks opened: 2
Theaters: 2,764
Per-theater average: $4,740
Cume to date: $38.7 million
No. 3: Team America: World Police (Paramount, R)
Gross: $12.3 million
Weeks opened: NEW!
Theaters: 2,639
Per-theater average: $4,661
No. 4: Shall We Dance? (Miramax, PG-13)
Gross: $11.6
Weeks opened: NEW!
Theaters: 1,772
Per-theater average: $6,559
No. 5: Ladder 49 (Buena Vista, PG-13)
Gross: $8.6 million (-34%)
Weeks opened: 3
Theaters: 3,255 (-6)
Per-theater average: $2,644
Cume to date: $53.8 million
No. 6: Taxi (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
Gross: $7.7 million (-36%)
Weeks opened: 2
Theaters: 3,001 (unchanged)
Per-theater average: $2,566
Cume to date: $23.7 million
No. 7: The Forgotten (Sony, PG-13)
Gross: $6 million (-21%)
Weeks opened: 4
Theaters: 2,768 (-213)
Per-theater average: $2,168
Cume to date: $57.1 million
No. 8: Raise Your Voice (New Line Cinema, PG)
Gross: $2.9 million (-26%)
Weeks opened: 2
Theaters: 2,521 (unchanged)
Per-theater average: $1,180
Cume to date: $8.1 million
No. 9: The Motorcycle Diaries (Focus Features, R)
Gross: $1.6 million (+12%)
Weeks opened: 4
Theaters: 250 (+83)
Per-theater average: $6,740
Cume to date: $5.6 million
No. 10: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Paramount, PG)
Gross: $1.3 million (-44%)
Weeks opened: 5
Theaters: 1,208 (-535)
Per-theater average: $1,084
Cume to date: $35.9 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Final Cut (Lions Gate, PG-13)
Gross: $235,000
Weeks opened: NEW!
Theaters: 117
Per-theater average: $2,009
Hair Show (IFG, PG-13)
Gross: $201,567
Weeks opened: NEW!
Theaters: 38
Per-theater average: $5,304
Stephen King’s Riding the Bullet (IFG, R)
Gross: $101,107
Weeks opened: NEW!
Theaters: 100
Per-theater average: $1,011
Eulogy (Lions Gate, R)
Gross: $45,000
Weeks opened: NEW!
Theaters: 22
Per-theater average: $2,045
