'Wall Street' Cashes In

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Oliver Stone's long-gestating sequel to his 80's hit about greed, took the top rung at the box office over its opening weekend.  The film brought in $19 million, a strong start considering the original brought in only $4 million in its opening weekend 23 years ago.  Adjusted for inflation, the original Wall Street would have had an opening worth approximately $8 million, on its way to an adjusted total of around $90 million ($44 million in 1987 dollars).  Reviews for the sequel have not been strong, however, so expect it to have a big drop in its second weekend.  Once home video and other ancillary revenues are in, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps should be profitable, but it may not recoup its $60 million budget in theaters.

Second place went to another new film, Warner Bros' Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.  The clumsily-titled, kid-friendly, owl picture brought in an estimated $16.3 million over its opening weekend.  With a 50% tomatometer rating and a $100 million budget, the Zack Snyder-directed film will likely have a hard time making it into the black.

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The Town Takes Crown

Four newcomers dominated the box office this weekend.

Ben Affleck's directorial debut, The Town, took first place at the weekend box office, bringing in an estimated $23.8 million.  With a modest $37 million production budget, the strong start coupled with strong word of mouth and critical reviews should help the film extend its strong debut over the coming weeks.

Another new film, Easy A starring Zombieland's Emma Stone, opened in second place, with an $18.2 million opening weekend.  With a small $8 million budget, the film is already profitable.

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'Resident Evil' Takes Bite Out of Competition

Resident Evil: Afterlife, the fourth live-action film in the series based on the Resident Evil video games, chewed its way to the top of the box office charts this weekend.  The film brought in a series' best $27.7 million, boosted by 3-D ticket sales.  Attendance was down from prior films in the series, but with a modest $60 million budget, the film should turn a nice profit for distributor Sony.

Second place went to Takers, which fell 44% to $6.1 million in its third weekend.  With $48.1 million to-date, the high concept heist flick is well on its way into the black.

In third spot was George Clooney's The American, falling from the top spot last weekend.  The film dropped 55.3%, which is significant for a film that appeals to an older audience.  This likely means it isn't experiencing stellar word-of-mouth.  $5.9 million in grosses, The American has tallied a total of $26.7 million over two weeks.

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Slow Labour Day Weekend Allows 'American' to slash 'Machete'

George Clooney's The American led a typically slow Labour Day weekend at the box office, bringing in $16.7 million over the three days since opening on the previous Wednesday.  Its total after the weekend was $19.8 million.

In second place, Machete, the spin-off flick from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez' Grindhouse film, opened with $14.1 million.  

The top two films each had a production budget of approximately $20 million, so both should be able to reach profitability relatively easily.

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'Takers' Takes It

In a surprise upset, Takers has claimed the weekend's box office crown from The Last Exorcism.  Sunday estimates had placed The Last Exorcism as the first place film, and Takers in the second spot, but once the results were in, Takers claimed first place with $20.5 million, and the Last Exorcism had to settle for second with $20.4 million.

Regardless of who took the stop spot, though, both studios had to be happy with results that will have their movies in the black in no time.  In fact, with its $20.4 million gross, The Last Exorcism has nothing to worry about, considering its budget is a measly $1.8 million.