Well, color me surprised. I figured Beverly Hills Chihuahua would be a one-weekend wonder at the box office and would certainly cede the top spot to a newcomer like Body of Lies or The Duchess. But no, the poorly rated (43% on Rotten Tomatoes, 2.6 stars on IMDb) family film featuring the voice talents of Drew Barrymore, Andy Garcia, and George Lopez earned another $17.5 million to retain its title as No. 1 movie in America. Go figure.
Second place went to the horror flick Quarantine, with $14.2 million in ticket sales. Starring Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, and Jay Hernandez, Quarantine tells the story of a news crew trapped in an apartment building with residents and firefighters after being quarantined by the CDC while responding to an emergency call. This film looks far too graphic for my tastes, and I’ve heard the shaky cam in this one gives Blair Witch a run for its money.
The Russell Crowe-Leo DiCaprio thriller Body of Lies earned a disappointing $13.1 million, putting it in third place for the weekend. I thought this would do a lot better with two quality actors headlining the show. It’s actually one of only two films on the list that I plan on seeing, the other being newcomer The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. That one performed poorly as well, grossing just $3.32 million over the weekend. These low earnings don’t exactly change my desire to see the films, but neither do they give me much hope that my time or money will be well spent.
Here’s the complete Top 10 at the box office for the weekend ending 10/12/08:
- Beverly Hills Chihuahua, $17.5 million
- Quarantine, $14.2 million
- Body of Lies, $13.1 million
- Eagle Eye, $11 million
- Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, $6.5 million
- The Express, $4.73 million
- Nights in Rodanthe, $4.61 million
- Appaloosa, $3.34 million
- The Duchess, $3.32 million
- City of Ember, $3.2 million