Domestically Gross: Your Weekend Was Spent at the Movies

Will Leitch
·Editor

%photo13%Top Five (Full list)
1. "Megamind 3-D." $47,650,000 ($47,650,000)
2. "Due Date" $33,500,000 ($33,500,000)
3. "For Colored Girls" $20,100,000 ($20,100,000)
4. "Red" $8,858,000 ($71,871,000)
5. "Saw 3-D" $8,200,000 ($38,801,000)

First Place. This is what they'd call in television a "timeslot hit." "Megamind 3-D" had a wide open, eager family audience this weekend, and it took full advantage of it, outlasting R-rated "Due Date" and "For Colored Girls." Still, for a 3-D IMAXer, it's still below "Jackass 3-D," though it surely has stronger legs. It'll lose screens and market share to "Harry Potter" in a couple of weeks, though. Interesting factoid: "Megamind" was released on more 3-D screens than any in movie history.

YOU FLOPPED."Conviction"'s currently at 672 screens, but it's difficult to imagine it sneaking much higher than that: Weak reviews have tanked the film and it might be lucky to reach $10 million. Also, "Hereafter" is at only $28,730,000 and will be fortunate -- barring an upset Oscar nod -- to get much past "Invictus"' $37.5 million total. Oh, and when you take away to 3-D surcharges, fewer people will see this "Saw" movie than any in the series.

Impressive Bridesmaid. We're hesitant to say "Due Date" was "impressive." Sure, it brought in $33.5 million, good enough for second place and particularly positive for an R-rated movie with no 3-D. But the CinemaScore is a B-, and it has generally been received more negatively than the many "Hangover" admirers would have hoped. "For Colored Girls" isn't a blowout hit yet, at $20.1 million, but the movie, with its staunch defenders and rabid haters, may prove to have more legs than the Downey-Galifianakis starrer. Also: Can we talk about "Red?" The octogenerians-as-assassins comedy-thriller is hanging in, man, in fourth place this week and with a real chance at $100 million. Underestimate Helen Mirren at your own risk!

Tiny Dancer. Your arthouse sleeper is rather obviously going to be "127 Hours," which made $266,000 at just four theaters. Look out as it goes wider over the next month: This is going to be Danny Boyle's second biggest movie after "Slumdog Millionaire," and if it catches a few breaks, it might even beat that.

Next Week's Contestants. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine try to stop a train without knowing the title of their movie; if someone just said it was "Unstoppable," they might save themselves the effort. Also, "Skyline" is the monster-attack movie, and "Morning Glory" shows up to make you that much sadder about what's happening to Harrison Ford.