Weekend Box Office (February 22 - 24, 2008)

LAST WEEKEND On Oscar weekend, the best seat on the charts belonged to Vantage Point, which looked down upon the box office with a strong opening, while the other new releases left relatively small impressions.

Opening on only 114 screens less than the other three new releases combined, Sony's ensemble pic Vantage Point opened with a strong $22.8M, according to final figures. Launching on 3,149 screens nationwide, the political thriller averaged $7,264 per screen while earning less than positive reviews from critics. The twisted tale of an attempted Presidential assassination benefited from good advertising and many recognizable faces in the cast.

Second and third places were close between two films which opened last weekend. Vaulting into second place was the storybook sensation, The Spiderwick Chronicles which dropped 31% to $13M. Its total now stands at $43.6M which should lead to a grand finale in the $85M range. That would put the Disney film in line with the last two Disney films released over President's Day weekend, 2007's Bridge to Terabithia which finished with $82M and 2006's Eight Below which ended its run with $81.6M. Former box office champ, Jumper, dropped 53.5% from its 3-day tally and fell to third place with $12.7M, bringing its cume to $56M. Most effect-laden sci-fi films have drops of this size, and the unfavorable reviews with poor word-of-mouth didn't help matters. Still, look for Hayden Christensen and company to end their run in the $85M range as well.

Fourth place went to urban dance flick Step Up 2 the Streets with $9.6M, a drop of 49% from last weekend. Adding a new dimension to cleverly named sequels, the total for the Disney title now stands at $41.2M. Look for a final gross in the $65M range which would match the original's $65.2M from 2006. Anticipation now ramps up for how part three will be named. Fifth place went to the hard bodies of Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson as their romantic comedy Fool's Gold brought in $6.5M this weekend, bringing their booty to $52.7M. Sixth place definitely went to another romantic comedy, Definitely, Maybe, which grossed $5.2M this weekend. This represents a 46% drop from last weekend, bringing the film's total gross to $21.8M. Look for a final total maybe in the $35M range.

Slots seven through nine ended up being a photo finish. Being welcomed into the seventh position was the Martin Lawrence homecoming comedy Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins, which grossed $4.15M this weekend bringing its total up to $35.5M. Coming in eighth and only $4,200 behind was Best Picture Oscar nominee and Independent Spirit Award winner Juno which added another $4.15M to its already robust gross. Its total now stands at $130.4M after 12 weeks of release. Following closely in ninth was the Jack Black/Mos Def comedy Be Kind Rewind, which took in $4.05M from its opening weekend. Released on only 808 screens, its per screen average was a decent $5,013. Directed by Michael Gondry, the reviews for the quirky comedy were mostly positive. And rounding out the top ten was another Oscar nominee for Best Picture, There Will Be Blood, which sucked down $2.7M worth of milkshakes this weekend. Its total now stands at $35M after 9 weeks in theaters.

Best Picture Oscar winner No Country For Old Men jumped 27% from last weekend and grossed $2.4M, raising its total to $64.3M. Time will tell if there is a significant post-Oscar bounce for the film, which has been in theaters nearly four months at this point. The remaining two Best Picture nominees, Atonement and Michael Clayton grossed $1.2M and $594,000 respectively. Cumes stand at $49.3M and $48.5M.

This weekend's other new releases both debuted outside the top 10. Larry The Cable Guy's latest attempt a movie career, Witless Protection grossed $2.1M from 1,333 screens for a poor average of $1,588. And the long delayed Charlie Bartlett grossed $1.8M from 1,122 screens for an average of $1,637. Look for both these films to find more business on DVD.

#	Title	Feb 22 - 24			Theaters	Weeks		Cumulative	Distributor
1	Vantage Point	$ 22,874,936			3,149	1		$ 22,874,936	Sony
2	The Spiderwick Chronicles	13,100,192			3,847	2		44,076,043	Paramount
3	Jumper	12,708,768			3,430	2		56,264,386	Fox
4	Step Up 2 the Streets	9,605,703			2,480	2		41,238,093	Buena Vista
5	Fool's Gold	6,554,284			3,075	3		52,400,000	Warner Bros.
6	Definitely, Maybe	5,217,775			2,220	2		21,814,805	Universal
7	Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins	4,158,700			1,873	3		35,667,115	Universal
8	Juno	4,154,502			1,727	12		130,431,948	Fox Searchlight
9	Be Kind Rewind	4,050,655			808	1		4,050,655	New Line
10	There Will Be Blood	2,687,229			1,402	9		35,112,557	Par. Vantage