REESE WITHERSPOON - EARTH STOOD STILL EARTH-SHAKING AT BOX OFFICE

EARTH STOOD STILL EARTH-SHAKING AT BOX OFFICE

The Day the Earth Stood Still did indeed turn out to be critic-proof, as many box-office analysts had predicted. After being pounded by reviewers on Friday, the movie went on to earn an estimated $31 million in ticket sales over the weekend. After holding on to the top spot for the previous two weekends, Four Christmases slipped to second place with $13.3 million. The romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn brought its three-week gross to $88 million. Another holiday comedy, Nothing Like the Holidays , which received a number of positive reviews, opened in seventh place with just $3.5 million. But the big draws were the little Acadmy Awards contenders playing in just a handful of theaters. They included Doubt ($525,030 in 15 theaters); Gran Torino ($284,000 in 6 theaters); The Reader ($170,000 in 8 theaters); and Che ($60,100 in 2 theaters).

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers 1. The Day the Earth Stood Still, $31 million; 2. Four Christmases, $13.3 million; 3. Twilight, $8 million; 4. Bolt, $7.5 million; 5. Australia, $4.3 million; 6. Quantum of Solace, $3.8 million; 7. Nothing Like the Holidays , $3.5 million; 8. Madagascar Escape 2 Africa, $3.3 million; 9. Milk , $2.6 million; 10. Transporter 3 , $2.3 million.

15/12/2008