WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

There were some big surprises at the box office last week as Zack Snyder's Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole fell short of its predicted number one debut and was upset by the return of Michael Douglas's Gordon Gekko in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. But with three new movies entering the box office race this week including the Oscar-worthy film The Social Network and the highly anticipated horror flicks Let Me In and Case 39, Mr. Gekko definitely had some trouble trying to stay on top of the charts for a second week in a row.

Debuting at number one this week 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). The movie made $8,300 on each of its 2,771 screens for an opening weekend total of about $23 million. Overall the film has received rave reviews and earned back almost half of its $50 million production budget in its opening weekend.

Holding strong for a second week in a row at number two and doing much better than 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). While the movie dropped nearly 32.6% from its debut last week, it actually earned roughly $3,036 on each of its 3,575 screens for a weekend total of $10.8 million. Now in two weeks on the charts the movie has made over $30 million, which is not bad but still falls short of earning back its entire $80 million production budget.

Falling two places from last week to number three 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). While the movie dropped nearly 46.9% from its debut last week, it was actually added in thirty-two new theaters this week and earned roughly $2,808 on each of its 3,579 screens for a weekend total of $10.1 million. Now in just two weeks the movie has made over $35 million, which is still short of earning back its entire $70 million production budget.

Dropping one spot from last week to number four is the latest 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 35.9% from its debut last week, it was actually added in fifty new theaters this week and earned roughly $3,407 on each of its 2,935 screens for a weekend total of $10 million. Now in just three weeks the movie has made almost $65 million, which earns back its entire $37 million production budget and then some.

Rounding off the top five this week and only falling one place from last 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 34.0% from its debut last week, it was actually added in 118 new theaters this week and earned roughly $2,354 on each of its 2,974 screens for a weekend total of $7 million. Now in just three weeks the movie has made almost $43 million, which earns back its entire $8 million production budget and a healthy profit.

Unfortunately, even with the Halloween season fast approaching, this week's two new horror films failed to resonate with audiences.

Debuting at a disappointing seventh place this 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). The movie only made $2,420 on each of its 2,211 screens for a paltry opening weekend total of about $5.35 million, nowhere near $26 million production costs.

Also debuting extremely poorly this week was 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). The film was predicted to open at least at number two on the charts and will now be considered a true failure since it didn't even crack the top five in its debut weekend and could only secure eight place. The movie only made $2,624 on each of its 2,020 screens for a terrible opening weekend total of about $5.3 million, nowhere near $20 million production costs.

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

First up in wide release next week 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).

Also opening next 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).

Next week will also see the arrival of the new prison thriller Stone. The film reunites Oscar winning actor Robert De Niro (Raging Bull) with Oscar nominee Edward Norton (American History X) for the first time since the 2005 movie The Score and also features actress Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil: Afterlife).

Finally, opening in wide release next week is the new thriller-horror film from Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés called Buried starring Ryan Reynolds (Smokin' Aces), Samantha Mathis (Pump Up The Volume) and Stephen Tobolowsky (Memento).

Opening in limited release next week is the independent comedy It's Kind of a Funny Story. The film stars Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew) and Lauren Graham (Parenthood).

Also opening in limited release next week is the remake of director Meir Zarchi's controversial 1978 female-revenge film I Spit on Your Grave starring Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Daniel Franzese, Chad Lindberg and Rodney Eastman.

Finally, opening in limited release next week is the new film Nowhere Boy, which examines the childhood of legendary musician John Lennon. The film stars Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) and Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient). So please check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week!