If nothing else, the monsters can conquer the box office.
First the numbers (courtesy of Variety)
| 1 | Monsters vs. Aliens | $58,200,000 |
| 2 | Haunting in Connecticut, The | $23,010,000 |
| 3 | Knowing | $14,705,000 |
| 4 | I Love You, Man | $12,600,000 |
| 5 | Duplicity | $7,556,470 |
| 6 | Race To Witch Mountain | $5,637,000 |
| 7 | 12 Rounds | $5,300,000 |
| 8 | Watchmen | $2,755,000 |
| 9 | Taken | $2,700,000 |
| 10 | Last House On The Left, The | $2,611,160 |
I don’t know about the rest of you, but there was no surprise here for me. It’s been a while since an animated family movie opened, so I’m sure there were a lot of people just itching to get their little kids out to a big screen with a big movie. So “Monsters” racked up the best opening of 2009. As for the 3D factor–28% of the theaters it played in were 3D, and those accounted for 58% of the gross. Take that for what you will.
“The Haunting in Connecticut” wasn’t a big surprise either, a horror movies are always a safe bet. “Knowing” hung around, and the highly publicized “I Love You Man” and “Duplicity” hung around in the top five, making a bid for respectability. There can’t be anything but disappointment for those movies, especially with the people attached to each one–the Apatow style production of the former and the Julia Roberts star power of the latter. Good reviews did nothing for “Duplicity” apparently, and I don’t know what that says about the world.
Spring and April means the big movies will be coming faster and faster now, so all good cheer, you should be able to find lots of things to see in the coming weeks!
