WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

There were no big surprises at the box office last weekend as director Ben Affleck's second effort The Town won over audience members and critics alike with excellent reviews and a $23.8 million opening weekend total. Also doing well in its debut last week and gaining rave reviews was the new high school comedy Easy a starring Emma Stone. But with three very strong new contenders to the box office race this week including, Zack Snyder's computer animated 3D family film Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Oliver Stone's long awaited sequel to his classic '80s film Wall Street, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and the new romantic comedy You Again starring Kristen Bell, it is again no real surprise that we are now crowning a new box office champ.

Debuting at number one and doing a little bit better than expected is Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the long-awaited sequel to director Oliver Stone's iconic '80s movie Wall Street. The film stars Michael Douglas reprising his Oscar winning role as Gordon Gekko and also features a talented cast of actors including Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Josh Brolin (Jonah Hex), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Susan Sarandon (The Lovely Bones), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) and Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men). The movie made $5,330 on each of its 3,565 screens for an opening weekend total of about $19 million. Overall the film has received pretty positive reviews but even if it continues to perform well in the next few weeks it may have a difficult time earning back its entire purported production budget of $70 million.

Debuting at number two and not quite doing as well as was predicted is the latest film from visionary director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, Dawn Of The Dead) called Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. The computer animated film about a group of heroic owls stars an all-star cast of voice actors including Oscar winners Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Geoffrey Rush (Shine) as well as Hugo Weaving (The Matrix), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Jim Sturgess (21), Emilie de Ravin (Lost) and Abbie Cornish (Sucker Punch). The movie made $4,569 on each of its 3,575 screens for an opening weekend total of around $16.3 million. For the most part the film has received extremely positive reviews but even if it continues to perform well in the next few weeks it will have a difficult time earning back its entire purported production budget of $100 million.

Falling two places from its debut last week to number three is the new film from actor turned director Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), which is already earning Oscar buzz called The Town. The bank robbery film that takes place in Boston stars a stellar cast of actors which in addition to Affleck himself includes Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), Rebecca Hall (Please Give) and Oscar winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation). While the movie dropped nearly 32.7% from its debut last week, it was actually added in twenty-four new theaters this week and earned roughly $5,556 on each of its 2,885 screens for a weekend total of $16 million. Now in just two weeks the movie has made almost $50 million, which earns back its entire $37 million production budget and then some.

Falling two places from its debut last week to number four this week is the Scarlet Letter themed high school comedy Easy a starring Emma Stone (Zombieland, Superbad). The film's talented cast also includes Oscar nominees Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April) and Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) as well as Lisa Kudrow (Friends), Penn Badgley ((Gossip Girl), Amanda Bynes (Hairspray) and screen legend Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange). While the movie dropped nearly 39.7% from its debut last week, it earned roughly $3,746 on each of its 2,856 screens for a weekend total of $10.7 million. Now in just two weeks the movie has made over $32 million, which earns back its entire $8 million production budget and then some.

Rounding off the top five this week in its debut is the new romantic comedy You Again, about a young woman who must deal with the demons of her past when her brother marries her high school rival. The film stars a talented group of female performers including Kristen Bell (When in Rome), Odette Yustman (Rogues Gallery), Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), Jamie Lee Curtis (True Lies), Kristin Chenoweth (Four Christmases) and Betty White (The Proposal). The movie made $3,257 on each of its 2,548 screens for an opening weekend total of around $8.3 million, earning back almost half of its $20 million production budget.

Doing well this week in limited release is the new documentary film Waiting for Superman from director Davis Guggenheim, which analyzes the failures of the American public education system by examining the lives of several of its students. The movie debuted on four screens and earned $35,250 on each for a weekend total of $141,000.

Also doing well in its debut in limited release this week is the latest romantic comedy from legendary director Woody Allen called You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. The London set film stars Naomi Watts (King Kong), Josh Brolin (Jonah Hex), Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins (Silence Of The Lambs), Antonio Banderas (The Legend of Zorro), Freida Pinto (Silence Of The Lambs), Lucy Punch (Kids in America), Anna Friel (Land of the Lost) and Gemma Jones (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). The movie debuted on six screens and earned $27, 167 on each for a weekend total of $163,000.

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

First up is the much-talked-about new horror film from Cloverfield director Matt Reeves called Let Me In, which is based on the extremely popular Swedish film Let the Right One in. The movie stars Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass), Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road), Elias Koteas (The Thin Red Line) and Richard Jenkins (The Visitor).

Also opening next week in wide release 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).

Finally, opening in wide release next week is the new horror/thriller Case 39, which stars Renée Zellweger (Bridget Jones's Diary), Bradley Cooper (The A-Team) and Ian McShane (Death Race).

Opening in limited release next week is the independent comedy Barry Munday about an unlikable womanizer who losses his testicales. The film stars Patrick Wilson (Watchmen), Judy Greer (Arrested Development), Chloë Sevigny (Shattered Glass), Mae Whitman (Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World), Cybill Shepherd (Taxi Driver) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange).

Also opening in limited release next week is the documentary Freakonomics based on the popular book by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. The film is split into several different sections and are directed by some of the finest documentary directors working in the industry today including Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), Alex Gibney (Casino Jack and the United States of Money), Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp), Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight) and Seth Gordon (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters). So please check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week!