The first weekend of 2009 looked a lot like the last weekend of 2008 when it came to box-office numbers. The top 10 remained almost unchanged, due mainly to the fact that there were no new releases to shake things up. The top seven films retained their spots from last week, while simultaneously taking a predictable dip in receipts; yet the numbers overall are nearly 10 percent higher than the same frame last year.
Marley And Me kept the top spot with a second-week take of $24.05 million, neatly pushing it over the $100 million mark. Bedtime Stories was not far behind, taking No. 2 with $18.4 million, followed closely by The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button with $18.4 million. The much-maligned Tom Cruise war thriller Valkyrie held up reasonably well at No. 4 with $14.04 million, putting it (surprisingly) on track to get near the $100 million mark during its theatrical run. That's a milestone Yes Man should have no trouble reaching: The Jim Carrey comedy dropped only 17 percent with a $13.85 million take in its third week, landing it at No. 5. Seven Pounds held on to No. 6 with $10 million, while The Tale Of Desperaux took No. 7 with $7.02 million.
A couple of slow-burning awards contenders shook up the back three of the top 10, however. Doubt climbed two spots to No. 8 (despite posting a 5.8 percent drop since last week), thanks in part to the 37 percent dive The Day The Earth Stood Still took to the No. 9 spot with $4.85 million. And Slumdog Millionaire finally cracked the top 10 in its eighth frame, climbing 11 percent since last week with $4.77 million. It also boasted the highest per-screen average in the top 10 by a healthy margin.
More detailed numbers can be found at boxofficemojo.com.