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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