Weekend Box Office: National Pastime, Blood Money

Dillon Freasier and Daniel Day-Lewis try to find one of the two theaters showing There Will Be Blood.

As you would expect, the moviegoing population held steady in its choices this weekend. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Natonal Treasure: Book of Secrets, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and I Am Legend took the top three spots. Numbers 4 and 5, though, showed a vote for more atypical films, with those places taken by political satire Charlie Wilson’s War and dialogue-heavy, unsentimental Juno (narrowly beating out Alien vs. Predator).

What I found most interesting, though, was the big money brought in by There Will Be Blood. Playing in just two theaters, one in NYC and one in LA, it took in $185,525 this weekend. That brings its total since opening on Wednesday to $309,703. Granted it’s a much-buzzed about movie, with lots of awards, best of lists, and nominations attached to the title, but still it is long and serious and this is a holiday week. Turnout has to be considered a victory for epic dramas, PT Anderson, and Daniel Day-Lewis. It will be interesting, though, to see how well it does as the release begins to expand. To a certain degree, moviegoing in NYC and LA has a “keeping up with the neighbors” aspect to it; you don’t want to be the one person in the crowd who hasn’t seen the big movie yet, or you do want to be the first person to have seen it. The positive weekend returns on the coasts aren’t necessarily a predictor for how the oil-and-greed Western will play across a nation trying to get through grim January days and the relentless politicking of an already old and long presidential campaign season.

Here’s the full top ten of the weekend:

1. “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” $35.6 million.
2. “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” $30 million.
3. “I Am Legend,” $27.5 million.
4. “Charlie Wilson’s War,” $11.8 million.
5. “Juno,” $10.3 million.
6. “Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem,” $10.05 million.
7. “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep,” $9.2 million.
8. “P.S. I Love You,” $9.1 million.
9. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $8 million.
10. “Enchanted,” $6.5 million