Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are easily defeated its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $32.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved book scored a strong average of $8,693 per theater at 3,735 locations. Starring Max Records, the film follows a lonely boy who bonds with a bunch of wild creatures in his imagination.
New entry Law Abiding Citizen debuted in second place with $21.2 million, with an average of $7,353 million at 2,890 locations. The F. Gary Gray-directed thriller stars Gerard Butler as a desperate widower threatening to bring down the justice system. Jamie Foxx co-stars.
Oren Peli's surprise hit Paranormal Activity delivered yet another phenomenal box-office performance, taking home a stunning $20.1 million from ticket sales at only 760 locations. The scary flick scored a remarkable average of $26,530 per theater.
At No. 4, Vince Vaughn’s latest comedy Couples Retreat picked up another $17.9 million, bringing its domestic total to $63.3 million. Also starring Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis, the Universal release follows four couples’ adventures at a tropical island resort.
Also opening this weekend was The Stepfather, which bagged $12.3 million, enough for fifth place. Dylan Walsh plays a ruthless killer who pretends to be a nice stepfather — but eventually kills the families he’s living with.
Meanwhile, Sony’s hit animated flick Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs slipped to No. 6, pulling in $8.1 million for a total gross of $108.2 million after a solid five-week run.
Ruben Fleischer’s comedy Zombieland dropped to seventh place, earning $7.8 million for a total haul of $60.8 million. Following at No. 8 with $3 million was the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D double feature, which reached a cume of $28.5 million.
At No. 9, Bruce Willis’ action flick Surrogates reached a cumulative gross of $36.3 million after weekend earnings of $1.9 million. Finally, The Invention of Lying, starring Ricky Gervais, finished tenth with $1.9 million and a total of $15.9 million.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)