HOLIDAY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

Last week's box office race came down to the wire with Takers and The Last Exorcism both fighting it out for number one. On Sunday it looked like the Eli Roth produced horror film had come out on top but by Monday morning the hip-hop heist film had won the weekend. Now with three highly anticipated new movies opening this Labor Day weekend, including director Robert Rodriguez's Machete, Going the Distance starring Drew Barrymore, and The American with Oscar winner George Clooney, it was inevitable that we would have a new box office champ.

Debuting at number one this week and doing better than expected is the new international espionage thriller starring Oscar winner George Clooney (Syriana), entitled The American. The movie made $4,594 on each of its 2,823 screens for an opening weekend total of $12.9 million, which was still not enough to earn back their $20 million production budget. Its 4-day holiday weekend take is estimated to be $16.1 million, with its cumulative grosses since it opened on wednesday landing at $19.2 million.

Debuting at number two this week, and not doing as well as expected, is the long-awaited new motion picture from visionary director Robert Rodriguez called Machete, which is based on the short film that was featured in his and Quentin Tarantino's movie Grindhouse. The film stars PEwKBywCY6r6Aw||Danny Trejo} (Heat) in the title role and also features a colorful cast of accomplished actors including Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four), Michelle Rodriguez (Avatar), Jeff Fahey (Lost), Cheech Marin (The Perfect Game), Don Johnson (Miami Vice), Steven Seagal (Half Past Dead), Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls) and Oscar winner Robert De Niro (Raging Bull). The movie made $4,232 on each of its 2,670 screens for an opening weekend total of $11.3 million, which was not enough to earn back their $25 million production budget. Its estimated 4-day holiday take, which actually moved the film from third into second place on Monday, is said to be close to $14.7 million, which still does not see the film recouping its total productions costs.

Falling two places back from last week, but still holding strong, is the urban heist film Takers. The movie boasts an all-star cast, which includes Paul Walker (Fast & Furious), Idris Elba(The Losers), Matt Dillon (Armored), Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith), Michael Ealy (Miracle at St. Anna), Jay Hernandez (Quarantine), Chris Brown (Stomp the Yard), T.I. (American Gangster), and Zoe Saldana (Avatar). While the movie dropped almost 44.2% from the previous week, it earned roughly $5,190 on each of its 2,206 screens for a weekend total of $11.4 million. Its estimated 4-day holiday earnings are expected to be around $14.5 million. Now in just two weeks, the movie has made over $40.5 million earning back its entire $32 million production budget.

Falling two places back from last week to number four is the Eli Roth produced scare-fest The Last Exorcism, which stars Patrick Fabian (Must Love Dogs), Louis Herthum (I Love You Phillip Morris) and Ashley Bell (State of Play). While the movie dropped almost 62.5% from the previous week, it earned roughly $2,660 on each of its 2,874 screens for a weekend total of $7.6 million. Its 4-day holiday earnings are estimated to be $9.5 million. Now in just two weeks, the movie has made over $34.3 million, earning back its entire $1.8 million production budget and then some.

Rounding off the top five this week with a disappointing debut is the new romantic comedy about long distance relationships called Going the Distance. The movie boasts an all-star cast of comedic actors including Drew Barrymore (The Wedding Singer), Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard), Christina Applegate (Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore), Ron Livingston (Office Space), Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Rob Riggle (The Hangover) and Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live). The movie made $2,272 on each of its 3,030 screens for an opening weekend total of $6.8 million, which was not enough to earn back their $32 million production budget. Its 4-day holiday earnings are estimated to be a total of $8.5 million.

Doing extremely well in limited release this week is the new documentary film The Tillman Story about the death of NFL player turned United States Army Ranger Pat Tillman. The film rose an amazing 320.0% since last week and was added in 19 theaters. The movie earned $5,542 on each of its 24 screens for a weekend total of $133,000. Now in just three weeks of release the film has earned about $257,000.

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

First up is the fourth chapter of the popular Resident Evil series, Resident Evil: Afterlife, based on the popular video game. Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element) returns in the lead role and is accompanied by a talented cast of actors, which includes Ali Larter (Heroes), Wentworth Miller (Prison Break), Boris Kodjoe (Surrogates) and Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy).

Also opening in wide release next week is the romantic comedy The Romantics starring Katie Holmes (Batman Begins), Anna Paquin (True Blood), Josh Duhamel (Transformers), Malin Akerman (Watchmen), Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring) and Candice Bergen (Gandhi).

Opening in limited release next week is the long-awaited directorial debut of Oscar nominated actor Casey Affleck entitled I'm Still Here. The documentary film examines the life of retired-actor turned hopeful-rapper Joaquin Phoenix.

Also in limited release next week is the wrestling drama Legendary starring John Cena (12 Rounds), Patricia Clarkson (Miracle) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon).

Finally, opening in limited release next week is the teen-pregnancy comedy Expecting Mary, which stars an all-star cast of veteran actors including Elliott Gould (MASH, The Long Goodbye), Linda Gray (Dallas), Lainie Kazan (Beaches, My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Oscar winner Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show, Young Frankenstein), Della Reese (Touched by an Angel, Harlem Nights), Cybill Shepherd (Moonlighting, Taxi Driver, Fred Willard (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Best In Show) and Gene Simmons from the legendary rock band "Kiss."

So please check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week!