“Inglourious Basterds” beat back “District 9″ at weekend box office, other three new movies barely show up at box office

“Inglourious Basterds” was strong, racking up more than $37 million, about the same amount as last week’s number one “District 9″ in its debut weekend.   The summer movie season is quickly coming to an end as… again… only 4 movies made more than $10 million and … again… the other new movies struggled to make the top ten.  New movie “Shorts” barely beat another family friendly movie “G-Force” (in its 5th week of release).

Overall, the box office was down again… nearly 10%… and it ranks as the lowest total of this summer movie season (one weekend remaining).

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Inglourious Basterds” – $37.60 million (1st week)

2. “District 9″ - $18.90 million
(2nd week, was #1 lst week, lost 49% from last week)

3. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” – $12.50 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 44% from last week)

4. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” – $10.03 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 46% from last week)

5. “Julie & Julia” – $9.00 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 25% from last week)

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“District 9″ pushes “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” out of the top spot at the box office, four other new movies try to compete

“District 9″ was number one, but only 4 movies made more than $10 million and one new movie didn’t even make the top ten.  “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” lost nearly 60% of its audience, but the other 4 new movies of the weekend couldn’t beat it.   “The Time Traveler’s Wife” had a decent 3rd place debut, “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” was 6th, “Ponyo” was 9th, and “Bandslam” was a distant 13th, barely ahead of the “The Hangover” in its 11th week.

The diluted weekend led to the 2nd lowest total at the box office this summer with the top 12 movies pulling in $125.37 million (down 5% from last weekend).

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “District 9″ - $37.00 million (1st week)

2. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” – $22.50 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 59% from last week)

3. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” – $19.21 million (1st week)

4. “Julie & Julia” – $12.40 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 38% from last week)

5. ”G-Force” – $6.91 million
(4th week, was #3 last week, lost 30% from last week)

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“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” wins the weekend, but its only half the battle … will it be able to sustain success?

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” dominates the weekend, but has about $120 million to go to match its $175 million budget… “Julie & Julia” cooks up a strong opening weekend in 2nd pace… the weekend’s other new movie “A Perfect Getaway” opened in a disappointing 7th place.   Last week’s #1: “Funny People” fell to 5th place, losing 65% of its audience.

Overall the weekend box office did recover from last weekend’s low, but still ranks as the summer’s 4th lowest weekend… with the top 12 movies pulling in $133.47 million.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” – $56.20 million (1st week)

2. “Julie & Julia” – $20.10 million (1st week)

3. “G-Force” – $9.80 million
(3rd week, was #3 last week, lost 44% from last week)

4. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – $8.88 million ($273.8 million total)
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 50% from last week) 

5. “Funny People” – $7.87 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 65% from last week)

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As I mentioned earlier this week, disappointment and the possibility of disappointment headline this week’s movie offerings, I call it my “Phantom Menace” complex of being let down after the hype…. there’s also the legitimate disappointment that can be felt in my review of the shot-in-Grand Rapids movie out on DVD this week…

New at Theaters (Friday): “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, “Julie & Julia”, “A Perfect Getaway”

Limited Released in Grand Rapids market: ”500 Days of Summer” (Celebration North, Rivertown), “The Stoning Of Soraya M” (Celebration North)

Moving to Woodland Mall this week ($4.00 shows): “Star Trek”  (more…)

Disappointment and the possibility of disappointment headline this week’s movie offerings: read about my “Phantom Menace” complex and my not-so-good review of the shot-in-Grand Rapids movie out on DVD this week…

New on DVD (Tuesday): “The Chaos Experiment”, “Fragments”, “Labor Pains”, “Mutant Chronicles”, “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh”, “Obsessed”, “Race to Witch Mountain”, “The Soloist”

Best Bet(s): The curiousity factor may help improve the disappointment you’ll have with first movie shot in Grand Rapids since Michigan’s tax incentives passed – “The Chaos Experiment” - is out everywhere on DVD this week (was at Blockbuster as an exclusive for at least 2 weeks) the movie is rated R, violent, and has adult themes SO BE AWARE… the real gem this week and the first movie I’ll rent from this list is “The Soloist”… families should focus on “Race to Witch Mountain” if they skipped it at theaters… my next choice may be a movie I know nothing about – “Fragments” – based solely on the cast list (Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson)…. we’ll see.   Sidenote: “Mutant Chronicles” got mixed reviews – good because it was solid visually and had some good acting/ bad because of the story and mostly average acting.

New at Theaters (Friday): “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, “Julie & Julia”, “A Perfect Getaway”
Limited Released in Grand Rapids market: ”500 Days of Summer” (limited), “The Stoning Of Soraya M” (limited)

Best Bet(s): This is one of those weekends when I am really trying hard to keep my expectations low because of a movie I am really excited to see, but worried I will be disappointed after seeing – I call it the “Phantom Menace” complex (my historic disappointment after seeing the Episode 1 Star Wars prequel) – and it applies this weekend to “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” the movie based on my beloved childhood cartoon.  In the “Laff at the Movies” folklore, there are few things held more sacred than the 80′s version of “G.I. Joe” – I will carefully and cautiously be watching both characters and storylines and hoping for the best.

For everyone else, the more wide appealing “Julie & Julia” and “500 Days of Summer” should probably be your first choices.  Some of you may want to check out “A Perfect Getaway” - a couples retreat slasher/thriller – or the limited release drama of “The Stoning Of Soraya M” about a reporter who learns of the tragic abuse of a woman in 1980′s Iran.

 CLICK HERE TO FIND A MOVIE SHOWTIME

Next Week at Theaters: “Bandslam”, “District 9″, “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard”, “Ponyo”, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”

Next Week on DVD: “17 Again”, “I Love You, Man” 

MY REVIEWS OF OTHER MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS OR AVAILABLE TO RENT/BUY: 

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