Weekend Box Office: Earth Invaders Take In Audiences

Keanu Reeves as an alien–does this even count as acting? 

Who cares about holiday cheer? This weekend moviegoers decided it was time for some good old-fashioned big screen disaster sci-fi earth invasion fun. The Day the Earth Stood Still, a remake of the 1950s classic, landed in first place with an estimated $31 million dollars in the US. The film also did well overseas, with $39 million in its international opening. I keep telling people, audiences love Keanu as an alien. Everything makes a little more sense when Keanu is non-human.

Four Christmases, now in its third week, was in second place with $13.3 million. Solid, steady, and unspectacular. Twilight was in third place with $8 million. The teen vampire movie is up to $150.1 million cumulatively and will no doubt continue to add to that. Bolt was in fourth place with $7.5 million and Australia took fifth with $4.3 million. The Outback epic has notably been missing from “best of” and nomination lists, and isn’t making much of an impact. But the people in it are so pretty.

It was a good weekend for indie movies (or Oscar hopefuls, if you will). Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino had a $47,340 per screen average from six screens. Doubt, the adaptation of the successful stage play, opened well with $35,002 from fifteen locations. The Reader, also making its debut, had a $21,250 average from eight showings. Holdovers Milk and Frost/Nixon also were strong performers as they continue to expand.

Next week’s race for the top looks to be a bit more contentious as heavyweight stars Will Smith and Jim Carrey open respectively in Seven Pounds and Yesman. Will Smith usually means lots of money in the Christmas stockings of producers so let’s bet on that one winning out. Carrey, meanwhile, just needs a hit. He’s due–this looks like the type of movie people want from him.