WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

Last week, the Will Ferrell animated comedy MegaMind held the top spot for a second week in a row. But the super-hero themed film had some tough competition this weekend from the highly anticipated first part of the final chapter of one of the most beloved movie franchises of all-time, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. This weekend the film about the young wizard earned $125.1 million, which places it sixth on the list of all-time best opening weekends, right behind The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Iron Man 2 respectively.

Debuting at number one this week is the long awaited final chapter of the beloved Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. The film features returning stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans. The movie made $30,332 on each of its 4,135 screens for an opening weekend total of $125.1 million.

Falling one place from last week is the super-hero themed animated family film MegaMind, which stars Will Ferrell (The Other Guys), Tina Fey (Baby Mama), Jonah Hill (Superbad) and Brad Pitt (Troy). While the movie dropped 44.5% from the week before, it was shown on 170 less screens for a total of 3,779. The film earned $4,280 on each screen for a weekend total of about $16.1 million. In just three weeks the movie has earned around $109.4 million, which is close to earning back its entire $130 million production budget.

Falling one place from last week to number three is the fifth film from director Tony Scott and actor Denzel Washington (Crimson Tide, Man on Fire, Deja Vu, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) called Unstoppable. The film is based on the true story of a runaway train in Pennsylvania and also stars Chris Pine (Star Trek), Rosario Dawson (Sin City) and Kevin Dunn (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen). While the movie dropped 42.3% from its debut last week, it was shown on two more screens for a total of 3,209. The film earned $4,082 on each screen for a weekend total of about $13.1 million. In just two weeks the movie has earned only $41.9 million, but still has far to go in order to earn back its entire $100 million production budget.

Fourth place this week is the new comedy from Old School director Todd Phillips, entitled Due Date. The road trip comedy stars an excellent cast of actors including Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man 2), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers), Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) and Oscar winners Jamie Foxx (Ray) and Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine). While the movie dropped 40.7% from its debut last week, it dropped 136 screens for a total of 3,229, earning $2,834 on each for weekend total of about $9.1 million. Now in just three weeks the movie has earned around $72.6 million, earning back its entire $65 million production budget.

Debuting at number five is the new prison break thriller The Next Three Days. The movie stars Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, RZA, Brian Dennehy and Liam Neeson. The film made $2,633 on each of its 2,564 screens for an opening weekend total of $6.7 million.

Continuing to do well in limited release in its debut is the latest film from Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle called 127 Hours. The film is based on the true story of a mountain climber who was forced to cut off his own arm in order to survive. The film stars James Franco (Milk) in the lead role and also features Amber Tamblyn (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2) and Lizzy Caplan (Hot Tub Time Machine). The movie rose 108.6% this week from the previous week and was shown on 86 additional screens. The film earned $8,472 on each of its 108 screens for a weekend total of $915,000.

Also doing well in limited release on its opening weekend is Jumper director Doug Liman's new film, Fair Game, based on the true story of the CAA spy who's cover was blown by the Bush administration. The political thriller stars Naomi Watts (King Kong) and two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River). The movie rose 44% this week from the week before and was shown on 211 additional screens. The film earned $1.4 on each of its 386 screens for a weekend total of $3.7 million.

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

First up next week is, Tangled, the 50th animated feature film from Walt Disney Pictures, based on the classic "Rapunzel" fairy tale. The movie stars a talented cast of voice actors including Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember), Zachary Levi (Chuck), Donna Murphy (Star Trek: Insurrection), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) and Ron Perlman (Hellboy).

Also opening in wide release next week is the new revenge film, Faster. The film stars Dwayne Johnson (The Rundown), Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade), Carla Gugino (Watchmen), Maggie Grace (Taken), Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Going the Distance).

Opening in wide release next week is the new music and dance spectacular, Burlesque. The film stars an all-star cast of music and dance icons including Grammy winning recording artist Christina Aguilera, Oscar winner Cher (Moonstruck), Kristen Bell (You Again), Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars), Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada), Alan Cumming (X2: X-Men United), Eric Dane (Grey's Anatomy), Cam Gigandet (Twilight) and Peter Gallagher (American Beauty).

Finally, opening in wide release next week, just in time for the holidays, is The Nutcracker in 3D, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky (Tango & Cash). The film's excellent cast includes Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane and John Turturro.

Opening in limited release next week is the new comedy-drama, Love and Other Drugs. The film stars Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), Judy Greer (Barry Munday), Hank Azaria (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian), Gabriel Macht (The Spirit) and Oliver Platt (Flatliners).

Finally, opening in limited release next week is the Oscar bait, The King's Speech. The film stars Colin Firth (Bridget Jones's Diary), Helena Bonham Carter (Alice in Wonderland), Guy Pearce (Memento), Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl) and Michael Gambon (Layer Cake). So please check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week!