Box Office Report August 10th 2009

Dude here again. Another weekend, another large amount of money headed to the studios so they can continue to put out more movies based on toys. This just ensures that next summer, we're going to have Megan Fox in a kick ass version of Strawberry Shortcake! Directed by Michael Bay, Odin willing!

Who am I kidding, they'll get McG.

This weekend, more toys blow stuff up and rob a lot of hard working people of their money! Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates. The actuals will be available on Monday).

1. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Par) - $56.2, 4007 screens, week 1, $56.2 total

2. Julie & Julia (Sony) - $20.1, 2354 screens, week 1, $20.1 total

3. G-Force (BV) $9.8, 3482 screens, week 3, $86.1 total

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (WB) - $8.8, 3455 screens, week 4, $273.8 total

5. Funny People (Uni) - $7.8, 3008 screens, week 2, $40.4 total

6. The Ugly Truth (Sony) - $7.0, 2975 screens, week 3, $69.0 total

7. A Perfect Getaway (Uni)- $5.7, 2159 screens, week 1, $5.7 total

8. Aliens in the Attic (Fox)- $4.0, 3108 screens, week 2, $16.2 total

9. Orphan (WB)- $3.73, 2270 screens, week 3, $34.8 total

10. (500) Days of Summer (FoxS)- $3.72, 817 screens, week 4, $12.3 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that G.I. Joe defied all expectations and actually took in a boatload of money. Not screening the film for critics may have helped, as Paramount had planned, but the audiences didn't seem to unanimously hate this movie and feel it was an obligation to see it (like the robot one). But I have a feeling we'll have to wait for next weekend's numbers to see if we get a sequel in 2 years.

Julie & Julia opened up in a nice bit of counter programming, and took in $20 million. Impressive and profitable for those that made it, but I'm waiting for the sequel to this one, Julie & Julia 2: Julie & Julia-er! It involves Julia Child coming back from the dead and chastising Julie for screwing up her recipes. (Mostly I just want to see Meryl Streep do wire-fu and kick some arse).

A Perfect Getaway provided a wonderful escape for those who wanted to getaway to empty theaters. I'll catch it on video in 3 months like the rest of you.

(500) Days of Summer, the annoyingly type-set indie romance finally cracked the top ten, and thus top ten stalwart of the past 9 weeks The Hangover has gone. A moment of reflection, if you don't mind.

Below the radar, the other hipster-indie-cred movie you have to see to join their ranks, Paper Heart, opened up on 38 screens, and took in $206,000. Impressive, but the joes still had a higher per screen average, which is disturbing. Also opening this weekend is Cold Souls, about Paul Giamatti's soul, which opened up on 7 screens and took in $63,000. Lots of interesting counter programming under the radar this summer, and it's provided some great flicks worthy of checking out.

There you have my amazing break down. Next week, District 9 comes to melt our collective faces off.

Until next weekend.......