Alternative Film Guide

Iron Man soared past Speed Racer, thus taking the trophy at the North American box office this weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
With US$50.5 million, Paramount’s comic-book adaptation took the No. 1 spot for the second straight weekend, lifting its domestic total to $177.1 million after only two weeks in release. Directed by Jon [...]

Yeah, he can fly!
Iron Man soared to the top of the North American box office this weekend with a stunning US$100.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Adding revenues from Thursday night’s screenings, the film reached a domestic total of $104.2 million.
Paramount Pictures’ Marvel Comics adaptation came close to beating the $114.8 [...]

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s comedy Baby Mama (above) crawled to the top of the North American box office this weekend with US$18.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Released by Universal and directed by Michael McCullers, Baby Mama stars Fey as an infertile businesswoman who hires an irresponsible sluggard (Poehler) as her surrogate.

New [...]

Jackie Chan and Jet Li’s martial-arts extravaganza The Forbidden Kingdom fought its way to the top of the North American box office this weekend with $20.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Released by Lionsgate and directed by Rob Minkoff, The Forbidden Kingdom follows the adventures of an American teenager who’s sent back to ancient [...]

Prom Night slashed its competition, taking over the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with US$22.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Screen Gems’ remake of Paul Lynch’s 1980 horror flick debuted at 2,700 sites on Friday, scoring with audiences despite being slammed by critics nationwide. Directed by Nelson McCormick, the film [...]

Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis / Welcome to the Sticks (literally, Welcome to the Land of the Ch’tis), a comedy about French regional stereotypes, has been seen by more than 17.4 million people since its February 27 release. That makes it the most successful French production in history. (According to an Agence France Presse report, the [...]

George Clooney’s sports comedy Leatherheads failed to kick Robert Luketic’s gambling drama 21 off the throne at the North American box office this weekend.
Universal’s screwball comedy, which stars Clooney as a football coach struggling to save his team from financial ruin, debuted in second place with a weekend gross of US$13.4 million, according to studio [...]

21 played its cards right this weekend, seizing the top spot at the North American box office with US$23.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Released by Sony Pictures and directed by Robert Luketic, the crime drama stars newcomer Jim Sturgess as a gifted MIT student whose car-counting techniques help him cash in at Vegas’ [...]

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! fended off three new releases, hanging on to the top spot at this Easter weekend’s North American box office with US$24.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The 20th Century-Fox computer-animated comedy directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino — and featuring the voice of Jim Carrey as an [...]

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who trampled to the top of the North American box office this weekend with US$45.1 million in revenues, according to studio estimates.
Released by 20th Century-Fox and directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, the computer-animated film features the voice of Jim Carrey as an eccentric elephant who struggles to protect [...]

Roland Emmerich’s prehistoric epic 10,000 B.C. — despite being massacred by US critics — squashed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with US$35.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Released by Warner Bros., the film follows the adventures of a mammoth hunter who embarks on a perilous journey to free his [...]

Will Ferrell’s latest sports comedy, Semi-Pro, leaped to the top of the North American box office this weekend, but it failed to match up to the openings of his previous hits Blades of Glory and Talladega Nights.
Semi-Pro, a New Line Cinema release directed by Kent Alterman, stars Ferrell as the owner and coach of [...]

John Horn’s "Oscar bumps up ego, sure, but box office?" in the Los Angeles Times:
"With the studios and their specialized film divisions spending tens of millions of dollars on award campaigns, it’s natural to assume the holy grail is the Oscar statuette. It’s an attractive myth, and one that gets a lot of media attention. [...]

With an estimated US$41 million take, Cloverfield destroyed its competition at the North American box office this weekend.
Paramount’s monster movie directed by Matt Reeves and produced by J.J. Abrams soared past the $35 million record opening of the Star Wars 1997 rerelease. Cloverfield focuses on a small group of friends trying to escape Manhattan [...]

National Treasure: Book of Secrets topped the North American box office for the third straight weekend with an estimated US$20.2 million.
Walt Disney’s sequel to the 2004 hit National Treasure continued to slam the competition, lifting its domestic total to $171 million after a strong three-week run. The Jon Turteltaub-directed adventure tale starring Nicolas [...]

National Treasure: Book of Secrets topped the North American box office this past three-day weekend with an estimated US$45.5 million.
The Jon Turteltaub-directed sequel to the 2004 smash hit National Treasure opened at 3,832 theatres on Friday, beating the opening weekend gross of its predecessor by $10 million. Starring Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris and Helen [...]

Beowulf (above) stormed to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$28.1 million.
Robert Zemeckis‘ computer-animated epic-adventure tale opened at 3,153 theatres on Friday, slamming its competition after scoring with critics and winning over audiences with stunning 3D projections. Based on the ancient epic poem, the film follows Beowulf, [...]

Bee Movie buzzed its way to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$26 million.
DreamWorks’ computer-animated adventure tale switched spots with last weekend’s box-office champion American Gangster, lifting its cumulative gross to $72.2 million after two weeks in release. Directed by Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith, [...]

American Gangster stormed to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$46.3 million.
The Universal crime drama directed by Ridley Scott opened at 3,054 sites on Friday, crushing the competition despite its R-rating and 157-minute running time. Starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, American Gangster focuses on a detective [...]

Saw IV stormed to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$32.1 million.
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, the fourth installment in the popular Saw series opened at 3,183 theaters on Friday, slightly surpassing the $31.7 million opening gross of Saw II. The Lionsgate release, however, failed to beat [...]

30 Days of Night soared to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$16 million.
David Slade’s adaptation of the popular graphic novel stars Josh Hartnett (above, right) as an Alaskan town sheriff who faces his most challenging mission yet when a gang of bloodthirsty vampires invade the community [...]

As per John Hopewell in Variety, Juan Antonio Bayona’s psychological thriller The Orphanage has grossed €5.8 million at the Spanish box office during its first few days of release. That is supposedly the second best opening ever — after Santiago Segura’s Torrente 3 — for a Spanish film. (I’m assuming inflation hasn’t been factored in.)
The [...]

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$21.5 million.
The latest adaptation by playwright-turned-director Perry opened at 2,011 sites Friday and largely surpassed the $13-million opening-weekend gross of his previous film, Daddy’s Little Girls, which hit theaters earlier this year.
Last week’s winner The Game [...]

The Game Plan topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$16.3 million.
Andy Fickman’s PG comedy starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson prolonged its reign at the top of the chart for a second consecutive week, reaching a total gross of $42.8 million. Released by Walt Disney Pictures, the movie follows am [...]

The Game Plan rocketed to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$22.7 million.
The Walt Disney Pictures’ PG comedy directed by Andy Fickman and starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson opened at 3,103 sites on Friday, outrunning its competitors despite having been slammed by poor reviews. The Game Plan [...]