BOX OFFICE RESUMES RETREAT

BOX OFFICE RESUMES RETREAT

The box office resembled the stock market last weekend as its total gross fell 8.31 percent below the same weekend a year ago and 11 percent below the previous weekend, the first weekend in eight that the box office reported an improvement over last year's results. While total revenue for the year is down only 0.78 percent, attendance has fallen 4.66 percent. Only two films earned more than $10 million, Sony's Lakeview Terrace , which debuted with $15 million, and Focus Features' Burn After Reading, which took in $11 million in its second week. Lionsgate's My Best Friend's Girl opened with $8.3 million to place third, while MGM's animated Igor premiered with $7.8 million. Another newcomer, DreamWorks/Paramount's Ghost Town recorded $5 million to place eighth overall; however, on a per-theater basis, it ranked third.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date) 1. Lakeview Terrace, Sony, $15,004,672, (New); 2. Burn After Reading, Focus, $11,028,257, 2 Wks. ($36,135,221); 3. My Best Friend's Girl, Lionsgate, $8,265,357, (New); 4. Igor , MGM, $7,803,347, (New); 5. Righteous Kill, Overture Films, $7,424,479, 2 Wks. ($28,534,233); 6. Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, Lionsgate, $7,271,899, 2 Wks. ($28,1281,59); 7. The Women, Picturehouse, $5,417,779, 2 Wks. ($19,321,011); 8. Ghost Town, DreamWorks/Paramount, $5,012,315, (New); 9. The Dark Knight, Warner Bros., $2,915,174, 10 Wks. ($521,890,027); 10. The House Bunny , Sony, $2,662,650, 5 Wks. ($45,587,131).

23/09/2008