We’re kicking President’s Day off with some pretty good news for y’all. Business may have been down 29% from last year’s holiday weekend, but I’m pleased to report that the new BIG MOMMAS movie didn’t top the charts. Instead, Jaume Collet-Serra’s UNKNOWN took the #1 spot at the box office with an estimated $21.8 million. That’s a little less than the opening of Liam Neeson’s previous action flick, TAKEN, but still a solid start for a Euro-thriller.
Barely claiming the #2 spot with $19.5 million was DJ Caruso’s I AM NUMBER FOUR. The sci-fi/action/romance fared rather poorly, not coming anywhere close to the success of the TWILIGHT flicks. Despite a big marketing campaign, it seems that the movie didn’t pack enough punch for the dudes and lacked enough sappy drama for the chicks. It did, however, play in IMAX venues, accounting for 12% of its gross.
Christian E. Christiansen’s THE ROOMMATE is still hanging on at #8, while Alister Grierson’s SANCTUM fell to the #12 spot. Darren Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN continues to make waves at #15, and Mikael Håfström’s THE RITE came in at #16.
Next weekend, we’ll see how the Nicolas Cage action vehicle DRIVE ANGRY fares against the comedy HALL PASS. Meanwhile, the vampire action flick THE BLEEDING will have a limited theatrical release before hitting DVD on March 1.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
| 1. Unknown | $ 27.8 Million | NEW |
| 2. I Am Number Four | $ 19.5 Million | NEW |
| 3. Gnomeo and Juliet | $ 19.4 Million | $ 50.4 Million |
| 4. Just Go With It | $ 18.2 Million | $ 60.8 Million |
| 5. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son | $ 17.0 Million | NEW |
| 6. Just Biber: Never Say Never | $ 13.6 Million | $ 48.5 Million |
| 7. The King’s Speech | $ 6.6 Million | $ 103 Million |
| 8. The Roommate | $ 4.1 Million | $ 32.7 Million |
| 9. The Eagle | $ 3.6 Million | $ 15.0 Million |
| 10. No Strings Attached | $ 3.1 Million | $ 66.0 Million |