Weekend Box Office: Act of Valor Takes Top Honors

It was a military thriller that took top honors this weekend, leading yet another strong February weekend. Act of Valor [RT:30%, CB:3.5/5] debuted at number one with over $24 million, bringing in double its reported $12 million production cost. Even more impressive, the movie has no big names to attract audiences, but it managed to handily outperform several movies that did.

The phrase "no good deed goes unpunished" had a particular resonance for Tyler Perry this weekend. His latest offering Tyler Perry's Good Deeds [RT:28%, CB:3.5/5] settled for a distant second place with just $16 million. It's the second lowest opening ever for a Perry flick, just ahead of Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls which earned just $11 million when it opened in 2007.

Wanderlust [RT:58%, CB:3.5/5], which had the benefit of Judd Apatow for producer and faces like Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston to feature on its posters, belly flopped into eighth place with just $6 million. The lower profile thriller Gone[RT:15%, CB:1/5] snuck in at number nine with only $5 million.

For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:

1. Act of Valor * $24,700,000 Total: $24,700,000 LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 3,039

2. Tyler Perry's Good Deeds * $16,000,000 Total: $16,000,000 LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2,132

3. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island $13,475,000 Total: $76,731,000 LW: 4 WR: 3 THTRS: 3,350

4. Safe House $11,400,000 Total: $98,100,000 LW: 1 WR: 3 THTRS: 3,052

5. The Vow $10,000,000 Total: $103,007,000 LW: 2 WR: 3 THTRS: 3,038

6. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance $8,800,000 Total: $37,832,000 LW: 3 WR: 2 THTRS: 3,174

7. This Means War $8,500,000 Total: $33,571,000 LW: 5 WR: 2 THTRS: 3,189

8. Wanderlust * $6,600,000 Total: $6,600,000 LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2,002

9. Gone * $5,000,000 Total: $5,000,000 LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2,186

10. The Secret World of Arrietty $4,503,000 Total: $14,660,000 LW: 9 WR: 2 THTRS: 1,522