The Jodie Foster vigilante flick The Brave One debuted at No. 1 at the North American box office this weekend, grossing $14 million and pushing last week’s champ 3:10 to Yuma down to second with $9.15 million.
“Revenge movies often appeal to men, but the fact that Jodie Foster was in it brought in the women,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media by Numbers told The Associated Press. “That combination worked.”
Other wide releases this weekend included the comedy Mr. Woodcock, starring Billy Bob Thornton, which opened in third place with $9.1 million, and the Korean-fantasy flick Dragon Wars, which debuted in fourth with $5.3 million.
Three smaller films hoping to build Oscar buzz finished out of the Top 10 over the weekend, but did well in limited release. They included: David Cronenberg’s latest crime thriller Eastern Promises, which grossed $552,676 in 15 theaters; the Julie Taymor’s Beatles musical Across the Universe, which opened with $685,000 in 23 theaters; and Paul Haggis’ Iraq war film In the Valley of Elah, which premiered with $138,000 in nine theaters.
The Top 12 movies took in a total of $66.1 million, up 8.48 percent from last year’s total of $60.9 million and up 1.97 percent from last weekend’s total of $64.8 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year: Sony’s Gridiron Gang, which opened at No. 1 with $14.4 million in 3,504 theaters, averaging $4,114 per theater; Universal’s The Black Dahlia, which opened in second place with $10 million in 2,226 theaters, averaging $4,495 per theater; and 20th Century Fox’s Everyone’s Hero, which debuted in third with $6 million in 2,896 theaters, averaging $2,093 per theater (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Brave One (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $14 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,755
• Per-theater average: $5,087
No. 2: 3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate, R)
• Gross: $9.15 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,667 (+15)
• Per-theater average: $3,431
• Cume to date: $28.5 million
No. 3: Mr. Woodcock (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $9.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,231
• Per-theater average: $4,079
No. 4: Dragon Wars (Freestyle Releasing, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,275
• Per-theater average: $2,363
No. 5: Superbad (Sony, R)
• Gross: $5.2 million (-31%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,910 (-159)
• Per-theater average: $1,787
• Cume to date: $111.3 million
No. 6: Halloween (MGM, R)
• Gross: $5 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,051 (-424)
• Per-theater average: $1,642
• Cume to date: $51.2 million
No. 7: The Bourne Supremacy (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-27%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 2,611 (-399)
• Per-theater average: $1,590
• Cume to date: $216.1 million
No. 8: Balls of Fury (Rogue/Focus, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.33 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,758 (-323)
• Per-theater average: $1,211
• Cume to date: $28.8 million
No. 9: Rush Hour 3 (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,208 (-482)
• Per-theater average: $1,506
• Cume to date: $133.1 million
No. 10: Mr. Bean’s Holiday (Universal, G)
• Gross: $2.6 million (-22%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,770 (-8)
• Per-theater average: $1,500
• Cume to date: $28.4 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Across the Universe (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $685,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 23
• Per-theater average: $29,783
Eastern Promises (Focus Features, R)
• Gross: $552,676
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 15
• Per-theater average: $36,845
In the Valley of Elah (Warner Indie, R)
• Gross: $138,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 9
• Per-theater average: $15,333
Silk (Picturehouse, R)
• Gross: $129,127
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 121
• Per-theater average: $1,067
December Boys (Warner Indie, PG-13)
• Gross: $17,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4
• Per-theater average: $4,250
King of California (First Look, PG-13)
• Gross: $37,054
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $7,411
