US Box Office Week 4

Source IMDbPro

It was a neck and neck-biting race at the box office this weekend with Paul Blart’s $21.5 million barely beating out the bloodsucking vampires of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. The aqua-hued threequel’s $20.7 million also wasn’t able to outdo the franchise’s previous installments, which peaked in 2006 with Underworld: Evolution’s $26 million debut.

Meanwhile, Mall Cop became the first film of 2009 to hold onto the top spot for two consecutive weeks.

Recently announced Oscar nominations helped indie fave Slumdog Millionaire live up to its name with a $10.6 million boost to the number five spot, and 13 nominations didn’t hurt The Curious Case of Benjamin Button either. The reverse-aging drama starring the Oscar-nominated Brad Pitt jumped back into the top ten with its $6 million haul.

Gran Torino starring this year’s non-Oscar nominated Clint Eastwood added $16 million to its $97.6 million cumulative gross to round out the top three as the remaining newbie in wide release, family film Inkheart starring Brendan Fraser, opened with a mediocre $7.7 million in seventh place behind a slew of holdovers.

Overall, this week’s ticket sales were up nearly 20% from the same time last year when the 300 spoof Meet the Spartans tried to stir up the winter doldrums.

…Download Full Results