WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

There were really no tricks at the box office over the Halloween weekend last week as Saw 3D, the seventh and final chapter in the popular horror franchise, murdered the competition and took the number one spot with $22.5. But this week, the reigning champ had a tough time holding on to its number one position against three highly anticipated new films including the animated movie MegaMind, Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls and Todd Phillips's Due Date, all of which made more money this week than last week's number one film.

Debuting at number one is the new 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). The movie made $12,082 on each of its 3,944 screens for an opening weekend total of about $47.6 million. That's a pretty modest opening weekend gross when you consider that the film cost about $130 million to make.

Debuting at number two this week is the new movie 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). The movie made $9,985 on each of its 3,355 screens for an opening weekend total of $33.5 million, which is about half of its purported $65 million production cost.

Debuting at number three this week is Tyler Perry's (Why Did I Get Married Too?) latest drama, For Colored Girls. The film stars an amazing cast of actresses which includes Janet Jackson (Nutty Professor II: The Klumps), Thandie Newton (Mission: Impossible 2), Kerry Washington (Mother and Child), Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog), Kimberly Elise (Set It Off), Loretta Devine (Death at a Funeral), Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost). The movie made $9,450 on each of its 2,127 screens for an opening weekend total of $20.1 million, which almost completely earns back the film's $21 million production budget.

Dropping one place from last week to number four and continuing to hold very strong is the action-comedy Red. The movie 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). While the movie dropped nearly 17.4% from last week and was seen in 120 less theaters, it earned $3,228 on each of its 3,349 screens for a weekend total of about $8.8 million. Now in just over a month the movie has made $71.8 million, earning back its entire $58 million production budget and then some.

Rounding off the top five and falling four places back from its debut last week, is the seventh and final chapter in the extremely successful horror film franchise, Saw. Saw 3D stars Tobin Bell (In the Line of Fire), Costas Mandylor (Soapdish), Betsy Russell (Chain Letter), Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day) and Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride). While the movie dropped nearly 63.6% from last week, it earned $2,920 on each of its 2,808 screens for a weekend total of about $8.2 million. Now in just two weeks the movie has made $38.8 million, which surpasses its $20 million production budget.

Doing 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 only opened on four screens but made $66,500 on each, for an opening weekend total of about $266,000.

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 opened on forty-six screens but made $15,217 on each, for an opening weekend total of about $700,000.

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

First up is the new alien invasion movie Skyline from directors Greg and Colin Strause (Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem). The film stars Eric Balfour (24), Donald Faison (Scrubs), Scottie Thompson (Star Trek) and David Zayas (Dexter).

Also opening in wide release next week is the forth film from director Tony Scott and actor Denzel Washington (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).

Finally, opening in wide release next week is the new romantic comedy from Notting Hill director Roger Michell called Morning Glory. The film revolves around the inner workings of a morning talk show and boasts an all-star cast that includes Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes), Harrison Ford (Raiders Of The Lost Ark), Diane Keaton (The Godfather), Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) and Jeff Goldblum (The Fly). So please check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week!