Three new releases helped knock last week’s top movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still all the way down to No. 4 this weekend. The Keanu Reeves sci-fi thriller took in just $10.2 million in its second week, bringing its North American gross to $48.6 million.
The new champ is Yes Man, a comedy starring Jim Carrey. This film earned $18.2 million, a number that many studio analysts agree would have been higher if not for bad weather in some key U.S. markets. Yes Man fended off a strong challenge from Will Smith’s new movie Seven Pounds, which received decidedly mixed reviews while hauling in $16 million.
Another new release, the CGI film The Tale of Despereaux, came in third place for the weekend after generating $10.5 million in ticket sales. Powered by the voice talents of Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, and Emma Watson among many others, this movie will appeal to the family crowd during the Christmas season.
No other new releases cracked the Top 10 this weekend, but expect a major shakeup next week as the studios unleash their heavy hitters for the big holiday.
Here’s the complete Top 10 at the box office for the weekend ending 12/21/08:
- Yes Man, $18.2 million
- Seven Pounds, $16 million
- The Tale of Despereaux, $10.5 million
- The Day the Earth Stood Still, $10.2 million
- Four Christmases, $7.75 million
- Twilight, $5.23 million
- Bolt, $4.26 million
- Slumdog Millionaire, $3.25 million
- Australia, $2.33 million
- Quantum of Solace, $2.15 million