Box Office Update 10/19-10/21: 30 Days of Night Tops the Lifeless Chart

A survival horror film survived the box office onslaught that consisted of a largest number of new wide releases that I can remember. 30 Days of Night took the top spot, grossing just under $16 million. I saw the film, adding my bit to its bottom line, and I have to say that for as good some sequences are, the film is a terribly frustrating experience. However, it was probably the most exciting new release to grace the big screen. It is also pretty lucky that the David Slade helmed flick opened this weekend, as it will probably get killed when Saw IV opens next weekend.

In addition to the vampire film, four others made their top ten debuts. Tops among them was the David Koechner starring comedy, The Comebacks. This is a movie that figured would do better than it did, though I am glad to see it come under my estimations. Here is where the movie snob comes out in me. I have no desire to ever see this movie (unless someone else was paying). It looks absolutely horrible, Epic Movie level horrible. I hope that it disappears as quickly as it arrived.

Coming in slightly behind the sports spoof was the directorial debut of Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone. It appears, at least with this one sample, that Ben Affleck may have found his calling. He is receiving strong reviews for his work here, better than he ever got for his acting. Maybe this is where he is supposed to be? I have not yet had the opportunity to see it, but hopefully soon.

The next new entry is actually a re-issue. Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D made its return to the big screen, and the crowds responded. It was released in its reformatted version last year, and proved to be a hit. This could become an annual event, one that I would like to see. I saw it last year and loved it. If you haven't had the pleasure, try to make every effort to catch this. You won't regret it.

The final top ten debut is Rendition, a war-themed drama looking at the business of torture. It is a good film, although not as good as it could have been. It also appears that films about the current world situation will wither at the box office, regardless of quality.

Among the returning films, The Game Plan and Michael Clayton both had strong holds on their audience. The success of the family themed The Game Plan shows the lack of competition in the genre as well as the desire for this type of film. Likewise, Michael Clayton may not be burning up the box office, but it is having strong retention and shows there is a market for intelligent dramas.

Next week will see only a couple new films entering the fray. First up is the fourth sequel in the Saw franchise, the new Steve Carell film, Dan in Real Life, finally, Wes Anderson's latest, Darjeeling Limited, goes into wider release.

Five movies dropped off the top ten this week: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (11), Across the Universe (12), The Kingdom (13), Resident Evil: Extinction (17), and The Seeker: The Dark is Rising (25).

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	N	30 Days of Night	$15,951,902	$15,951,902	1
2	1	Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?	$12,186,011	$38,950,821	2
3	2	The Game Plan	$8,178,646	$69,206,626	4
4	4	Michael Clayton	$6,677,272	$21,563,586	3
5	N	The Comebacks	$5,554,594	$5,554,594	1
6	N	Gone Baby Gone	$5,501,406	$5,501,406	1
7	3	We Own the Night	$5,420,793	$19,704,516	2
8	N	Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D	$5,330,101	$5,330,101	1
9	N	Rendition	$4,060,012	$4,060,012	1
10	5	The Heartbreak Kid	$3,814,636	$32,025,396	2

Box Office Predictions Recap
What I got right, I got really right. What I got wrong, I got really wrong. Much like watching the incredibly frustrating 30 Days of Night. After the somewhat lukewarm reception to The Kingdom, I should have guessed that Rendition would be further down the list. Anyway, I am pretty happy with how I did. A step up from the past few. Hopefully, this will carry over into the next week.

Anyway, here is how I picked the field:

Actual	Prediction	Title	Wknd Gross	Prediction
1	1	3o Days of Night	$15,951,902	$20 million
2	2	Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?	$12,186,011	$12.5 million
5	3	The Comebacks	$5,554,594	$11 million
3	4	The Game Plan	$8,178,646	$8.5 million
9	5	Rendition	$4,060,012	$8 million
4	6	Michael Clayton	$6,677,272	$7 million
7	7	We Own the Night	$5,420,793	$6 million
6	8	Gone Baby Gone	$5,501,406	$5.5 million
15	9	Things We Lost in the Fire	$1,561,949	$4 million
11	10	Elizabeth: The Golden Age	$3,150,180	$3.5 million