WALT DISNEY - A PRESIDENT'S DAY LIKE NO OTHER AT BOX OFFICE

A PRESIDENT'S DAY LIKE NO OTHER AT BOX OFFICE

It's now official the Friday the 13th/Valentine's Day/President's Day weekend produced the biggest February weekend in box-office history. According to final figures released by Media by Numbers Tuesday, the box office was up 31 percent over the same four-day holiday period last year to a sensational $220 million. Leading the parade was Warner Bros.' Friday the 13th with $43.6 million -- the most ever raked in by a so-called slasher flick. Also showing decent numbers was the debuting Confessions of a Shopaholic, which took in $17.8 million. According to Walt Disney Pictures, the film's audience was 74 percent female and 51 percent under the age of 25. However, a third film premiering over the weekend, The International, failed to strike a chord with moviegoers, even though it was billed as a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller about villainous international bankers. It wound up with a modest $10.7 million. Meanwhile, Paul Blart Mall Cop became the first "original" film released in January ever to cross the $100-million mark (the only other film to do so was 1997's Star Wars Special Edition.)

The top ten films over the three-day/four-day weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date) 1. Friday the 13th, Warner Bros., , $40,570,365/$43,585,449, (New); 2. He's Just Not That Into You, Warner Bros., $19,518,465/$22,329,489, 2 Wks. ($57,797,957); 3. Taken, Fox, $18,985,260/$21,821,805, 3 Wks. ($80,496,557); 4. Coraline , Focus, $14,783,157/$18,851,635, 2 Wks. ($39,087,556); 5. Confessions of a Shopaholic , Disney, $15,066,360/$17,809,053, (New); 6. Paul Blart Mall Cop , Sony/Columbia, $10,983,319/$13,574,024, 5 Wks. ($112,388,524); 7. Pink Panther 2, Sony/MGM, $8,513,476/$10,767,724, 2 Wks. ($24,088,718); 8 . The International , Sony/Columbia, $9,331,739/$10,702,613, (New); 9. Slumdog Millionaire , Fox Searchlight, $7,284,808/$8,705,948, 14 Wks. ($88,101,863); 10. Push, Summit Ent. $6,863,022/$7,982,366, 2 Wks. ($20,376,794.

18/02/2009