Box Office Update 12/15-10/17: The Pursuit of Happyness in Pursuit of Box Office

Will Smith gathered some of the best reviews of his career on his way to the top with yet another number one movie. This week's top film is the inspirational drama Pursuit of Happyness. It is based on the true story of a man who struggled out of homelessness to provide a better future for his son. It was able to fend off the dragon fantasy film Eragon for the top spot.

Sony has to be happy with the performance of the drama, in the face of fellow newcomers Eragon and Charlotte's Web. Both of those films were expected to have strong starts, with only the former actually capitalizing on those expectations. Charlotte's Web, on the other hand, stumbled out of the gate as it clawed its way to near the $11.5 million mark.

The returning films all had pretty decent showings. Apocalypto dropped off the most, slipping 46% from last week. I suspect the Gibson action film will have a pretty quick decline. Mayan action cannot be an easy sell, and I am sure the Mel is still feeling effects from his drunken rant a few months back. On the other side of the coin, The Nativity Story held on to the largest percentage of its audience, slipping less than 19%.

Three films dropped from the list this week: Deja Vu (11), Deck the Halls (12), and The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause (13).

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	N	The Pursuit of Happyness	$26,541,709	$26,541,709	1
2	N	Eragon	$23,239,907	$23,239,907	1
3	N	Charlotte's Web	$11,457,353	$11,457,353	1
4	2	Happy Feet	$8,358,421	$149,244,791	5
5	3	The Holiday	$8,014,713	$25,125,052	2
6	1	Apocalypto	$8,008,126	$28,209,532	2
7	5	Blood Diamond	$6,517,471	$18,637,257	2
8	4	Casino Royale	$5,627,644	$137,501,384	5
9	8	The Nativity Story	$4,656,376	$23,012,695	3
10	7	Unaccompanied Minors	$3,545,352	$10,093,267	2

Box Office Predictions Recap
Here is a week that I wouldn't mind forgetting. Over and under estimations abound. I was close on a couple of grosses, so I can take solace in that. Read on and see just how bad it was....

Actual	Prediction	Title	Wknd Gross	Prediction
3	1	Charlotte's Web	$11,457,353	$24 million
2	2	Eragon	$23,239,907	$19 million
1	3	The Pursuit of Happyness	$26,541,709	$18 million
6	4	Apocalypto	$8,008,126	$10 million
4	5	Happy Feet	$8,358,421	$8.5 million
8	6	Casino Royale	$5,627,644	$6.75 million
5	7	The Holiday	$8,014,713	$6 million
7	8	Blood Diamond	$6,517,471	$5 million
10	9	Unaccompanied Minors	$3,545,352	$3.25 million
9	10	The Nativity Story	$4,656,376	$3 million