Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi actioner District 9 flew past its competition to the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with $37 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Pulling strong reviews, the Peter Jackson-produced film scored a solid average of $12,135 per theater at 3,049 locations. District 9 is set in a world where unwelcomed aliens are living as refugees in slump-like conditions on Earth.
The Time Traveler’s Wife, the weekend’s second wide release, made it to second place with a gross of $19.2 million. Playing at 2,988 locations, Robert Schwentke’s romance follows the relationship between a woman (Rachel McAdams) and a man (Eric Bana) who involuntarily travels through time.
New entry The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard took the No. 6 spot, earning a mere $5.3 million. Produced by Will Ferrell and starring Jeremy Piven, the comedy follows the adventures of a skilled salesman who tries to save a car dealership from bankruptcy.
But the new release with the most disappointing performance this weekend was Todd Graff’s Bandslam (above, top photo), starring Aly Michalka and Vanessa Hudgens, which only made it to No. 13 with a three-day gross of $2.2 million from ticket sales at 2,121 locations. Even Hayao Miyazaki's animated Ponyo (above, lower photo), which opened at only 927 locations, finished higher with a gross of $3.5 million in ninth place.
Meanwhile, last week’s winner G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra delivered another solid box office performance, collecting $22.5 million for a domestic total of $98.7 million after a little more than one week in release.
Nora Ephron’s comedy Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, slipped to No. 4, taking home $12.4 million for a total haul of $43.6 million. Following in fifth place with $6.9 million was G-Force, which brought its cume to $99 million after a four-week run.
Warner’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince picked up $5.1 million at No. 7, reaching a domestic total of $283.8 million. Robert Luketic’s comedy The Ugly Truth followed in eighth place, pulling $4.5 million for a total haul of $77.5 million.
Finally, Fox’s indie comedy (500) Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, took the No. 10 spot with weekend earnings of $3 million and a total gross of $17.9 million.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)
Distric 9 is a very good movie. That's why it made so much money.
You don't need stars to make a good movie. You just need a good story and a good director to make the story come alive.
Who needs big stars when a movie with no big names opens in first place?