Box Office Report: Holiday Spectacular 2!

Dude here again. Rockin' yet another New Year! Bringing you the first box office numbers of the new year!! Trying to refrain from as many "I haven't _______ since last year!" jokes as possible, but it's getting kind of difficult. (Although it's time to retire the "I haven't SHOWERED since last year, because at this point, that's pretty gross, and not at all attractive to the ladies).

This weekend, barely anything changed from the previous week, which makes my job, once again, infinitely easier. Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates. The actuals will be available on Monday).

1. Marley and Me (Fox) - $24.0, 3505 screens, week 2, $106.5 total

2. Bedtime Stories (BV) - $20.3, 3684 screens, week 2, $85.3 total

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Par) - $18.4, 2988 screens, week 2, $79.0 total

4. Valkyrie (UA)- $14.0, 2778 screens, week 2, $60.6 total

5. Yes Man (WB)- $13.8, 3434 screens, week 3, $79.4 total

6. Seven Pounds (Sony) - $10.0, 2758 screens, week 3, $60.0 total

7. The Tale of Despereaux (Uni) - $7.0, 3091 screens, week 3, $43.7 total

8. Doubt (Mir) $5.0, 1287 screens, week 4, $18.7 total

9. The Day The Earth Stood Still (Fox)- $4.8, 2337 screens, week 4, $74.2 total

10. Slumdog Millionaire (FoxS) - $4.7, 612 screens, week 8, $28.7 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means the same thing that it did last week, so I'm going to put forth very little effort again. Seriously, the top 7 are the same exact as last week. I barely had to cut and paste!

Suffice it to say, people REALLY felt the need to see a movie about a family with a terrible dog, but I guess that's the appeal of Owen Wilson, too. People really like that Bedtime Stories, Benjamin Button, and Valkyrie. Even Yes Man and Seven Pounds are doing solid, if not spectacular given the star wattage, business.

And hey, Slumdog Millionaire, one of the best films of the year, is back up in the top ten. All in all, these past two weeks have been a boon for the film industry, which means lots of money for lots of people who already have money. The film business is booming, but I still will be out of work in a month. Huzzah!

Below the radar, Defiance, another Nazi movie (although, this one about the Jewish resistance fighters, not actual Nazis) opened up on 2 screens in an Oscar qualifying run, and took in $121,000 giving it the highest per screen average of the week. It has Daniel Craig, and although I like his portrayal of James Bond, I'm still smarting over how bad that last movie was, and I'm a little defiant (HA!) about seeing this one.

There you have my amazing break down. Next week, something called Bride Wars opens, which is nothing at all like Star Wars, and I believe the trailer made me weep for the future.

Until next weekend.......