The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.
Even though none of the top movies over the four-day Labor Day holiday weekend brought in more than $16 million, the holiday box office saw a bump from last year, most of that money coming from two returning movies, which held off the competition from three new movies.
Retaining the top spot, the first 3D installment of the venerable horror franchise The Final Destination (New Line/WB) brought in roughly $15.5 million in its second weekend, bringing its total to $50.6 million. It’s likely to surpass the gross of the previous most successful movie in the series by the end of the week, once again disproving any finality implied by the title.
Also remaining in second place, Quentin Tarantino’s WWII thriller Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company/Universal) continues to bring in business, as it added another $15 million in its third weekend to bring its total to $95 million, making it the second-highest grossing film in Tarantino’s illustrious career.
The two of them edged out the new Sandra Bullock-Bradley Cooper romantic comedy All About Steve (20th Century Fox), which had to settle for third place with its four-day take of roughly $14 million in 2,251 theaters, averaging over $6,000 per venue. It generally fared better than some expected while fending off the weekend favorite, Neveldine/Taylor’s sci-fi action thriller Gamer (Lionsgate), starring Gerard Butler, which grossed $11.2 million in 2,500 theaters, earning only slightly more than the duo’s debut Crank made over Labor Day weekend three years ago.
The Neill Blomkamp-directed sci-fi thriller District 9 (Sony) brought in another $9 million over the weekend, dropping to 5th place but surpassing the $100 million mark for a four-week total of $103.3 million.
Rob Zombie’s horror sequel Halloween II (Dimension Films) took the hardest hit over the holiday, dropping 57% to sixth place with $7 million and a ten day total of $27 million.
At #7, Sony’s cooking comedy Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, had the best hold of any of the returning movies, grossing $7 million over the four-day weekend, essentially the same amount it made last weekend. It has grossed just under $81 million since opening in early August. Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Paramount) dropped to eighth place with $6.7 million and $141 million total in the same period of time.
Mike Judge’s third live action comedy Extract (Miramax) opened in 9th place with an estimated $5.3 million in 1,611 theaters over the four-day weekend.
Rounding out the top 10 was Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams’ The Time Traveler’s Wife (New Line/WB), which added $5.5 million to bring its own box office take to $55.8 million.
The Top 10 grossed roughly $96 million over the four-day holiday weekend, up 13% from last year’s Labor Day holiday and almost doubling the amount made by the Top 10 in the first weekend of September.
Click here for the full box office results of the top 12 films.
