The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.
Producer Judd Apatow struck again this weekend with Superbad, as the Columbia Pictures comedy debuted to an impressive $31.2 million from 2,948 theaters, averaging $10,583 per site. Shot for just $20 million, Superbad opened slightly better than Apatow’s Knocked Up, which earned $30.7 million and has collected $147.3 million total. Directed by Greg Mottola and co-written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg , the R-rated release stars Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Rogen, Bill Hader and Emma Stone. Superbad broke a 12-year-old record for movies that opened after August 15. It surpassed Mortal Kombat, which opened on August 18, 1995, and grossed $23 million in its first weekend.
Dropping 55.5% and one spot to second, New Line’s Rush Hour 3 added $21.8 million in its second weekend. The $140 million sequel, starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, has earned $88.2 million.
Universal’s The Bourne Ultimatum earned $18.99 million in third and is up to $163.8 million after three weeks. The Matt Damon sequel was made for about $110 million.
Fox’s The Simpsons Movie garnered $6.7 million in its fourth weekend for a total of $165.1 million. The movie was produced for $75 million.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Invasion, a science fiction action-thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, opened in the fifth spot with just $6 million from 2,776 theaters.
Paramount’s Stardust, based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, dipped 42.8% in its second weekend, earning $5.2 million in sixth place for a total of $19.1 million. The fantasy film was budgeted at $70 million.
New Line’s Hairspray added $4.3 million in the seventh spot and surpassed the $100 million mark in its fifth weekend.
The Weinstein Company failed to bring in moviegoers for The Last Legion, starring Colin Firth, Aishwarya Rai, and Sir Ben Kingsley. Opening in 12th place, the fantasy action-adventure made just $2.6 million from 2,002 theaters, an average of $1,297 per location.
In limited release, Frank Oz’s new dramedy Death at a Funeral earned $1.3 million from 260 sites, while Leonardo DiCaprio’s environmental documentary The 11th Hour took in $56,000 from four locations, and doc The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters earned $50,300 at five theaters.
Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.
