Another year, another go-round from Tyler Perry’s Madea franchise. Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail easily topped the box office this weekend with $41.12 million, raking in more than the rest of the top five combined. Though the more modest debuts of last year’s The Family That Preys and Meet The Browns might have suggested that Perry was succumbing to the law of diminishing returns, his newest proves his audience is still very loyal, making this the prolific Perry’s highest debut yet. Look for Madea’s Class Reunion to hit theaters in about six weeks.
Then again, Madea didn’t have a whole lot in the way of competition this weekend: The only other new release, the abysmal Fired Up, barely clunked into the top 10 with $6 million, enough for a No. 9 debut. The rest of the top 10 took fairly substantial hits from last week, save Slumdog Millionaire, which rebounded back to No. 5 from No. 9 on the back of its deafening Oscar buzz with $8.05 million. Look for that trend to continue—and for Slumdog to cross the $100 million mark, which it’s currently within spitting distance of—next week.
Taken actually moved up the charts (No. 2 with $11.4 million) despite a drop in ticket sales from last week, as did Coraline, which moved up two spots to No. 3 with $11.03 million. This is largely thanks to the rapid decline of last week’s No. 1, Friday The 13th, which nosedived down 80 percent to No. 6 with $7.83 million. Chick-lit duo He’s Just Not That Into You and Confessions Of A Shopaholic each took a hit to the tune of 50 percent or so, dropping to No. 4 with $8.5 million and No. 7 with $7.02 million, respectively. Paul Blart: Mall Cop continued its interminable Segway tour through the top 10, coming in at No. 8 with $7 million, bringing its total gross over $120 million during its six-week run. No. 10 entry The International looks to have no such stamina, barely holding on to the top 10 in its second week with $4.45 million.
More detailed numbers can be found at boxofficemojo.com.