Box Office Report: Weak Sauce

Dude here again. Stuck with a cold, or the flu, or flu-like symptoms this week. It's a lot of fun, as everything I do seems to exhaust me right now. But that''s not gonna stop the numbers. Because nothing can stop the numbers!

Just like nothing can stop the Grimace. (From McDonalds).

This weekend, a very weak January weekend closes us out, with nothing really redeeming worth mentioning. 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. The Rite (WB) - $15.0, 2985 screens, week 1, $15.0 total

2 No Strings Attached (Par) - $13.6, 3022 screens, week 2, $39.7 total

3. The Mechanic (CBS)- $11.5, 2703 screens, week 1, $11.5 total

4. Green Hornet (Sony) - $11.5, 3524 screens, week 3, $78.8 total

5. The Kings Speech (Wein)- $11.1, 2557 screens, week 10, $72.7 total

6. True Grit (Par)- $7.6, 3120 screens, week 6, $148.3 total

7. The Dilemma (Uni)- $5.4, 2901 screens, week 3, $40.6 total

8. Black Swan (FoxS) - $5.1, 2315 screens, week 9, $90.7 total

9. The Fighter (Par) $4.0, 1914 screens, week 8, $78.3 total

10. Yogi Bear (WB)- $3.1, 2133 screens, week 7, $92.5 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that exorcisms are the hot new horror trend that will be overdone within the next 18 months. Yes, despite a supremely lackluster opening, Anthony Hopkins and the devil managed to "scare" up a small amount and be declared the king. I'm really ashamed at myself about that "scare" line, but I figure I'd put it in quotes, as the film is also just as likely to "scare" you out of anything besides your hard earned money.

No Strings Attached (or as I like to call it, the less funny Blue Valentine) held on to a scond place, and didn't relinquish too much of last week's take. So good for Natalie Portman!

Ah, Statham. On the one hand, The Mechanic opened up and did about on par with normal Statham flicks. On the other, in the dead of January, it should have done much better. Still not stopping me from seeing it, at least.

The Oscar nominations were announced this week, which explains the continued presence and money collecting of King's Speech, True Grit, Black Swan, and The Fighter. Just below the top ten, 127 Hours expanded again, and had one of the best weekend performances since opening 13 weeks ago.

Fun Fact: Yogi Bear has almost approached the same tally as the OTHER Justin TImberlake movie, the one about the face books.

Below the radar, something called From Prada to Nada, which is apparently a hip, Latino retelling of Pride and Prejudice, opened up on 256 screens and took in $1.1 million! ALso, Biutiful finally opened up on more than 2 screens (57 to be exact) and took in $461,000. And because it's not just arty flicks below the radar, Ip Man 2, Hong Kong sequel to the pretty kick as Ip Man, opened up on 20 screens and took in $63,500. And Gregg Araki's Kaboom opened on one screen to take in $13,700, and the highest per screen average of this slow, slow weekend.

So there you have my amazing breakdown. Next week brings us more weakness as a PG-13 "thriller" is released, along with something else I don't really care about either.

Until next weekend....

(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)