YES MAN Tops Weak Box Office, SEVEN POUNDS Too Heavy at No. 2

Jim Carrey’s latest comedy, Yes Man, topped the North American box office this weekend with $18.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

In the Peyton Reed-directed film, Carrey stars as a bitter man who decides to change his life by saying yes to anything and everything. For a mainstream Carrey comedy, Man delivered an unusually low-key performance at the box office.

Contrary to Will Smith’s recent films, the drama Seven Pounds failed to score a big opening, debuting with only $16 million at No. 2. Directed by Gabriele Muccino, Seven Pounds follows a desperate IRS agent as he embarks on a quest to forever change the lives of seven strangers.

New entry The Tale of Despereaux collected $10.5 million in third place. Based on the beloved book by Kate DiCamillo, the computer-animated film chronicles the adventures of a brave mouse who rescues a princess from the claws of hungry rats.

Meanwhile, last week’s box-office champion, The Day the Earth Stood Still, starring Keanu Reeves dropped to No. 4, earning $10.1 million and lifting its domestic total to $48.6 million. The Day the Earth Stood Still has generally been massacred by critics.

Following in fifth place was Seth Gordon’s comedy Four Christmases, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, which brought its total haul to $100.1 million after this weekend’s earnings of $7.7 million.

At No. 6, Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight, starring teen idols Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, took home another $5.2 million. The cumulative gross of the popular vampire romance based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer now stands at $158.4 million.

Walt Disney’s animated adventure Bolt picked up $4.2 million in seventh place for a domestic gross of $95 million, while Danny Boyle’s multiple award-winning Slumdog Millionaire pulled $3.1 million at only 589 locations for a cumulative gross of $12.1 million.

Two films rounded out the top 10: Baz Luhrmann’s epic drama Australia at No. 9 with a weekend gross of $2.3 million and a total haul of $41.9 million, and Marc Forster’s Quantum of Solace with $2.1 million and a cumulative of $161.3 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)