WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

There were some big surprises at the box office last week as the new romantic comedy Life as We Know It, which was supposed to debut at the top of the charts only took second place. Instead, David Fincher's The Social Network held strong and took the number one spot for a second week in a row. But this weekend the "Facebook Movie" had a tough time retaining its top position against two highly anticipated new movies, Red starring Bruce Willis, which is based on the popular comic book and Jackass 3D, the final film in the big screen trilogy based on the groundbreaking MTV reality series.

Debuting at number one this week is the third installment of the film adaptation of the popular MTV reality series Jackass, Jackass 3D. In the film, Johnny Knoxville (The Dukes of Hazzard) returns for more punishment along with his friends Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Jason Acuña. The movie made $16,228 on each of its 3,081 screens for an opening weekend total of about $50 million. Considering that the movie only cost roughly $20 million to make, the filmmakers must be extremely pleased with an opening weekend profit of about $30 million.

Debuting at number two is the new action-comedy Red, which is based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and stars an all-star cast that includes Emmy winners Bruce Willis (Live Free or Die Hard) and Mary-Louise Parker (Red Dragon), Oscar winners Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight), Helen Mirren (National Treasure: Book of Secrets), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws) and Ernest Borgnine (Escape From New York), Oscar nominee John Malkovich (Jonah Hex), Karl Urban (Star Trek), Julian McMahon (Fantastic Four) and Brian Cox (X2: X-Men United). The movie made $6,912 on each of its 3,255 screens for an opening weekend total of about $22.5 million, as predicted, which is still short of earning back its $58 million production budget.

Slipping two places from last week to number three is the new film from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button director David Fincher called The Social Network. The movie, which is about the founding of Facebook stars a cast of excellent young actors that includes Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland), Andrew Garfield (Never Let Me Go), Rooney Mara (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Rashida Jones (I Love You, Man) and Justin Timberlake (Alpha Dog). While the movie dropped nearly 28.8% from last week, it was actually added on 97 screens and earned $3,835 on each of its 2,868, for a weekend total of $11 million. Now in just three weeks the movie has made $63.1 million, which earns back its entire $50 million production budget and then some.

Dropping one place from last week to number four is Walt Disney Pictures new sports film Secretariat, based on the true story of the triple-crown winning racehorse. The film stars Oscar nominees Diane Lane (Unfaithful), John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire) and James Cromwell (Babe), as well as Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck), Kevin Connolly (Entourage), Fred Dalton Thompson (Die Hard 2: Die Harder) and Scott Glenn (The Hunt for Red October). While the movie dropped nearly 25.1% from last week, it earned $3,093 on each of its 3,072, for a weekend total of $9.5 million. Now in just two weeks the movie has made only $27.5 million, which is still shy of earning back its entire $35 million production budget.

Finally, rounding off the top five this week and dropping three places from its debut last week is the new romantic comedy about parenting called Life as We Know It. The film stars Katherine Heigl (Killers), Josh Duhamel (When in Rome), Josh Lucas (Hulk), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) and Jean Smart (Garden State). While the movie dropped nearly 36.6% from last week, it earned $2,921 on each of its 3,150 for a weekend total of $9.2 million. Now in just two weeks the movie has made only $28.8 million, which is still shy of earning back its entire $38 million production budget.

Doing well in limited release this week in its debut is the new film from Oscar winning director Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) called Hereafter, which stars Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity), Bryce Dallas Howard (Spider-Man 3) and Jay Mohr (Go). The movie debuted on only six screens and earned roughly $38,500 on each for a weekend total of $231,000.

Also doing well in its debut in limited release is the new drama Conviction directed by former actor Tony Goldwyn (The Last Samurai) and stars Sam Rockwell (Moon), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Juliette Lewis (Old School), Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) and Peter Gallagher (American Beauty). The movie debuted on eleven screens and earned about $10,000 on each for a weekend total of $110,000.

Next week will see the opening of two highly anticipated new films in wide release and one in limited release.

First up is the sequel to last year's extremely popular psychological horror film, Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 2 starring Katie Featherston.

Also opening in wide release next week after debuting in limited release this week is the new film from Oscar winning director Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) called Hereafter. The film stars Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity), Bryce Dallas Howard (Spider-Man 3) and Jay Mohr (Go).

Finally, opening in limited release next week is the new drama from director John Wells (The West Wing) called The Company Men. The film stars an all-star cast which includes Oscar winners Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting), Chris Cooper (Adaptation), Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) and Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive), as well as Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married), and Craig T. Nelson (Action Jackson). So please check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week!