Weekend Box Office:
1)National Treasure: Book of Secrets $35.6 million
2)Alvin and the Chipmunks $30 million
3)I Am Legend $27.5 million
4)Charlie Wilson's War $11.7 million
5)Juno $10.3 million
6)Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem $10 million
7)The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep $9.2 million
8)P.S. I Love You $9.1 million
9)Sweeney Todd $8 million
10) Enchanted $6.5 million
Nicolas Cage had a very good Christmas this year. His first and only sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets came in first over the Christmas holiday with another $35.6 million. This was the second weekend in a row that the Disney historical thriller topped the charts. It has pulled in a cumulative gross of $124 million, making it a certified hit.
But that wasn't the surprising news. The shocker was that Alvin and the Chipmunks remained in the second spot for a third straight week in a row, drawing in another $30 million. No one expected this film to be such a hit, and it doesn't look to be slowing down at all. So far, it has pulled in a total of $142 million in ticket sales. This is probably the biggest surprise hit of the year, and we will definitely be seeing a sequel sometime in the near future.
A couple of new releases didn't fare as well. Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem only managed to squeak itself into the number six spot with $10 million. Not quite the hit Fox was expecting. And the family film The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep came in right behind it in seventh place with just $9.2 million. Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters didn't even make it into the top ten, placing eleventh with just $6.3 million to its name.
A couple of smaller releases pulled in a decent amount of cash at the ticket window. The Bucket List grabbed $323,000 on just sixteen screens. The Spanish horror flick The Orphanage nabbed $230.000 playing on 19 screens. And There will Be Blood earned an impressive $186,000 on just 2 screens.
Look for Alvin and the Chipmunks to dominate again next week when its only real competition will be One Missed Call.