Box Office Update 11/30-12/2: Enchanted Remains Ahead of the Competition

Last week the top three films were Enchanted, This Christmas, and Beowulf. This week's top three films reads almost the same way, with Beowulf narrowly edging out This Christmas for second. However, the one big difference between this week and last is that the box office totals are considerably smaller, but that's what you get during the weekend following a big holiday. This is especially true when you don't have any big new releases to lure folks out with. This November ending/December weekend laid its hopes at the feet of last week's favorites.

The one new film to debut nationwide was the medical thriller Awake. It proved to be a movie with a fascinating core concept that failed to truly capitalize on it. It opened to a respectable $5.8 million, which has to be considered a success for a film of this sort. Still, it will drop fast, especially when faced with the fast increasing competition the closer we get to Christmas.

One other film appeared on this week's top ten that was not there last weekend. The Coen brothers' fantastic No Country for Old Men has been coming and going from the top ten since it's release 4 weeks ago, and I do not believe we have seen the last of it. It is a truly great film, and audiences are responding to its quality and seeking it out, and in some cases (I have read) been going back multiple times. The best thing I can say about the movie is that if you have the opportunity to go see this, and haven't, make a point to do so. You will not be disappointed.

Most of the films took steep dives from last week, which you would expect. Everyone is still recovering from the turkey comas and post Thanksgiving shopping madness, so movie going was likely not on the menu. I am sure that most who ventured out were more focused on continued shopping. Plus, there has been a wide band of bad weather that will surely keep people away from the cineplex.

Next week will be the kick off of the build up to Christmas with the release of The Golden Compass. It will be followed the next week by I Am Legend. These types of releases do not leave a lot of room for titles like Awake.

Two movies dropped off the top ten this week: American Gangster (11) and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (12).

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	1	Enchanted	$16,403,316	$70,000,316	2
2	3	Beowulf	$8,208,565	$68,939,986	3
3	2	This Christmas	$7,941,068	$36,431,987	2
4	4	Hitman	$6,021,927	$30,426,328	2
5	N	Awake	$5,856,872	$5,856,872	1
6	6	Fred Claus	$5,501,437	$59,784,054	4
7	7	August Rush	$5,021,435	$20,225,907	2
8	9	The Mist	$4,553,008	$19,563,276	2
9	5	Bee Movie	$4,444,798	$117,616,494	5
10	11	No Country for Old Men	$4,385,290	$22,914,851	4

Box Office Predictions Recap
So close and yet so far. This week was marked by a couple of close box office battles. They were so close that a few more tickets in the opposite direction and I could have gotten more than just the top spot correct. As close as I was for most of my placings, my gross predictions were not too far off either, although I have been better. Perhaps next week will be my week. I will, however, call next week's number one right now, The Golden Compass. You heard it here first!

Anyway, here is how I picked the field:

Actual	Prediction	Title	Wknd Gross	Prediction
1	1	Enchanted	$16,403,316	$23 million
3	2	This Christmas	$7,941,068	$9 million
2	3	Beowulf	$8,208,565	$8.5 million
5	4	Awake	$5,856,872	$7.5 million
4	5	Hitman	$6,021,927	$6 million
9	6	Bee Movie	$4,444,798	$5.5 million
6	7	Fred Claus	$5,501,437	$5 million
10	8	No Country for Old Men	$4,385,290	$4.5 million
7	9	August Rush	$5,021,435	$4 million
8	10	The Mist	$4,553,008	$3.5 million