Critics across the board have pretty much agreed that First Sunday is a sleepy, amateurish sort of movie, and the marketing doesn't do anything to dispel that assessment. The movie has nothing to attract you unless you're a fan of Ice Cube. Apparently his presence alone is worth it to audiences. They churned out an almost miraculous $19.0 million to make it the number two movie this weekend. No wonder they want Ice T to play B.A. in the upcoming "A-Team" movie debacle - he can draw in $20 million no matter how bad a movie is.
The only movie to top Sunday was The Bucket List. Though it's a far better movie than First Sunday, it also suffers from a mediocre script and rides, instead, on the names of its award winning stars, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. Now entering its third week, the movie expanded into wide release this weekend snatching up $19.5 million and the rights to advertise itself as the number one movie in America.
Juno, which was last week's second place film and had its final opportunity this weekend to make it to number, slipped to number three, only bringing in $14 million. The consolation prize? In its six weeks in theaters the movie has earned $71 million domestically and, with a little luck, might get in range of $100 million before it's done. That's something neither The Bucket List or First Sunday could begin to hope for.
With only $4.4 million out of the gate, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything came in number nine this week. That's a step backwards for the Veggietales film franchise whose last installment, Jonah: A Veggietales Movie, took in over $6 million on its first weekend.
The remaining wide-release entry, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, only banked $3.2 million to come in fourteenth place. While that may be par for an Uwe Boll directed project, it's still a sad showing for a film genre already teetering on becoming a joke. For the complete top ten, check out the chart below.
In broader news, the list of top ten money-makers for 2007 is almost complete, with only the number ten spot left to be decided. Alvin and the Chipmunks and National Treasure are nearly neck-and-neck at $187+ million each. Next weekend will likely reveal which movie will make the cut.
January 11 - 13, 2008
THTRS = Number of Screens
* Denotes new release.
Click on title to read CB Review
| The Bucket List | $19,540,000 - Total: $20,964,000 | LW: 23 WR: 3 THTRS: 2911 |
| First Sunday * | $19,000,000 - Total: $19,000,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2213 |
| Juno | $14,000,000 - Total: $71,250,000 | LW: 2 WR: 6 THTRS: 2448 |
| National Treasure: Book of Secrets | $11,482,000 - Total: $187,295,000 | LW: 1 WR: 4 THTRS: 3377 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks | $9,100,000 - Total: $187,740,000 | LW: 4 WR: 5 THTRS: 3384 |
| I Am Legend | $8,130,000 - Total: $240,234,000 | LW: 3 WR: 5 THTRS: 3353 |
| One Missed Call | $6,130,000 - Total: $20,642,000 | LW: 5 WR: 2 THTRS: 2240 |
| P.S. I Love You | $5,005,000 - Total: $47,008,000 | LW: 7 WR: 4 THTRS: 2323 |
| The Pirates WhoDon't Do Anything * | $4,419,000 - Total: $4,419,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 1337 |
| Atonement | $4,300,000 - Total: $25,208,000 | LW: 10 WR: 6 THTRS: 950 |
