Manhattan Weekend Box Office

George Clooney's Michael Clayton managed to outgross the national chart topper, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married, in Manhattan. And there was nary a peep out of the Joy Division biopic Control.  read more »

The Heartbreak Kid managed to grab the top spot here in Manhattan, despite being outgrossed nationally by the Rock’s The Game Plan in its second week.  read more »

The Rock comedy didn't stand a chance against fall in New York; Lust/Caution, Darjeeling Limited thrive.  read more »

It looks like Resident Evil: Extinction (#1) will not be following its own advice. After a $24 million dollar opening weekend, the Sony franchise based on a video game looks like it is here to stay. And it appears New Yorkers are just fine with that: the movie grossed a very respectable $337,000 at 9 theaters over the weekend.

But the big story for Manhattan box office continues to be the success of Eastern Promises (#2) and Across the Universe (#3). The Cronenberg-helmed thriller Promises expanded into 10 theaters from 1 last week, tripling its gross (while quartering its average). It bumped down the Beatles-scored musical Universe, which expanded from 3 theaters into 7, from its number 2 perch.

In Manhattan, both movies easily beat out Good Luck Chuck (#4), the romantic comedy starring Jessica Alba and Dane Cook. The movie averaged about $13,000 on 10 screens, grossing little more than Superbad had—in its 5th week. Despite bad reviews and, well, Dane Cook and Jessica Alba, the movie grossed a total $14 million. Expect a steep drop-off next weekend as its male audience begins to realize that the closest they’re going to get to seeing Ms. Alba naked is the panty-shot they already saw in the preview. Or so I hear … ahem.

The Sean Penn-directed Into the Wild (#6) opened strong on 2 screens with a $46,000 average. If this film does well, it will make Emile Hirsch more successful at 22, than well … all of us. Good luck with Speed Racer!

And the Straight-to-Netflix-Queue Award this week goes to In the Valley of Elah (#10). Not even a cast of more stars than you could shake a stick at could save this one. Susan Sarandon! Tommy Lee Jones! Charlize Theron! Jason Patric! Iraq! Er … The movie, now in its second week, just barely broke into the top ten here in Manhattan. It has an anemic $6,896 average and it hasn’t even hit its stride. You think the other studios with movies that take place in the Middle East are getting a little bit nervous? Uh, yea.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

The Brave One may have made the most money in Manhattan over the quiet weekend, but Eastern Promises and the musical Across the Universe made the most noise.

David Cronenberg’s follow-up to last year’s critical darling A History of Violence (#5) made $81,000 dollars on one screen, and Julie Taymor’s (Frida) troubled production Across the Universe (#2) averaged over $50,000 on 3 screens. Neither film cracked the top-15 grossing movies in the country in their first week of limited release, but both Focus Features, which is releasing Promises, and Sony Pictures, which is releasing Universe, should be heartened by their movies’ early success.

The Jodie Foster vehicle The Brave One (#1) grossed $271,000 in Manhattan at 10 theaters during a cool September weekend both for movies and temperatures. It was a relatively low opening for the Academy-Award winner, but in line with other revenge flicks, like—gasp!—Falling Down.

The Billy Bob Thornton comedy Mr. Woodcock (#8) and the Tranformers meets Jurassic Park actioner Dragon Wars (#10)—a sensation in South Korea!—grossed $9 million and $5 million respectively, but could fall off the New York City box office radar as early as next week. 3:10 to Yuma slipped to second in the national rankings and third here.

The Bourne Ultimatum, in its seventh week, found itself in the sixth spot in the city. With very little competition, the Matt Damon starrer has had a surprisingly stubborn hold on the box office, grossing over $215 million.

And while hindsight is 20/20, this raises the small question: Why didn’t Focus Features decide to go larger with the Eastern Promises opening? What was left to compete with the thriller? Stop giving Damon easy money! Luckily, it doesn’t look like Promises is going to fizzle out.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Studio executives—and audiences alike—have emerged from their Labor Day weekends rubbing their eyes and stifling their yawns: “Huh, award seasons starts now?” Well, OK!

Over the weekend, Lionsgate tried to hit the John Ford sweet spot with its prestige picture, 3:10 to Yuma, a western starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. It took in a modest $14 million haul, $4 million more than Halloween (#2) in its 2nd week of release and $6 million more than Superbad (#3) in its fourth. (Technically speaking, according to Box Office Mojo, Yuma scored “the highest-grossing non-horror opening” for the weekend. Wow!) Here in the city, the film grossed a little over $200,000 at 10 theaters. Its $20,000 average, while nothing to scoff at, does not inspire a terrible amount of confidence; the studio hopes to transform the film into this year’s Crash, which means they are in for the long haul. (And I mean long … Crash didn’t inspire much confidence at the beginning either—and for some, right up until the point it won its Best Picture Oscar.) So, if you can’t catch the 3:10, there’ll be a 4:10, 4:25 local, and 5:10. Yippee!

ThinkFilm also kicked off its awards season push with the documentary In the Shadow of the Moon. The film could not crack the city’s top 10 list, but it was showing only at 2 theaters. Stacked up against the box office and pedigree of documentary behemoth Micheal Moore’s Sicko, this one has a long climb to reach the Oscar summit. Good luck!

Shoot ‘Em Up, starring Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti, couldn’t find its target over the weekend, grossing $5.5 million nationally with about $100,000 coming from Manhattan. Reviewers were polarized. It appears it was a case of bad timing; maybe New Line should have considered releasing this one in early summer, when a gory, fun actioner with no plot could have found a toehold. Things are too serious now.

And this weekend’s Straight-to-Neflix-Queue Award goes to Brothers Solomon, the comedy starring Saturday Night Live’s Will Forte and Arrested Development’s Will Arnett and directed by Mr. Show’s Bob Odenkirk. All funny guys, right? Well, a $500,000 opening is decidedly not funny, especially when the movie cost a reported $10 million. Eek!

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

I guess the most popular fictitious New York nanny will continue to be the one portrayed by Fran Drescher. Oy vey!

The Scarlett Johansson vehicle The Nanny Diaries failed to crack the top five movies in the country with a paltry $7.8 million take over the weekend. In Manhattan, where the film takes place, the film did somewhat better, averaging close to $20,000 per theater and raking in enough to secure the fourth slot on the city’s top-ten list.

The only movie to open this weekend that did better than Diaries in Manhattan was War, the actioner starring international stars Jet Li and Jason Stratham. (Recognize Stratham? He’s the star of those glorified car commercials: The Transporter and The Transporter2. He’s also one of the few people to survive a Guy Ritchie film with his acting career intact …) The movie edged out Diaries—on its home turf, no less—by a mere $2,000.

But neither of these movies could top either Superbad, which clung to the top spot with surprising tenacity, or Bourne Ultimatum. The two holdovers had solid weekends, with the comedy managing a near $40,000 average in Manhattan theaters.

I guess the surprise nationally—even if it didn’t translate into big dollars here in the city—was Mr. Bean’s Holiday. (I guess the character needed a vacation after not working for 10 years ...) Rowan Atkinson has returned, hat in hand, to try improbably to woo America all over again as the bumbling, frog-voiced Bean. The movie made over $10 million nationally, although it couldn’t crack the $10,000 average mark here in the city. That kind of box office success makes him the new Ernest. I hope he goes to camp next!

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Take your ratings and stuff ‘em, Jack! Superbad, an R-rated teen comedy produced by Judd Apatow and written by Seth Rogen and friend, Evan Goldberg, had the late Motion Picture Association of America head Jack Valenti spinning in his grave over the weekend, as it lured thousands of impressionable teens into theaters, most—gasp!— without their parents. The movie, starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera (Arrested Development) struck box-office gold with its bawdy, raunchy humor, grossing over $30 million on roughly 3,000 screens.

The movie did especially well in Manhattan, grossing $606,610 and averaging six times more than its national average. The city attracts plenty of the awkward types—to borrow a phrase from Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, etc.: “If you can’t get laid here, you can’t get laid anywhere.”—which it is safe to say form the movie’s core audience.

Nothing funny about Invasion’s opening. In a summer where any movie with a bankable star has been raking in the dough—even No Reservations grossed over $10 million in its first week!—the Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig failed to crack double figures, grossing only $6 million on 2,776 screens. Both nationally and in Manhattan, the movie could not overtake either Rush Hour 3 or The Bourne Ultimatum. When was the last time she was in a movie that wasn’t either a critical or financial disappointment? Do they love her in France? What’s going on?

The one movie Invasion did better than? Stardust. The fantasy tale that coulda, shoulda woulda, did show some surprising grit over the weekend—better late than never?—maintaining an above-$10,000 average in Manhattan. Meanwhile, Frank Oz’s Death at a Funeral refused to die quietly, posting a respectable $11,800 average, outgrossing Becoming Jane in its third week and Miramax’s forgotten film The Last Legion. (Why bother to release Legion on so many screens—2,002, to be precise—if you’re just dumping it? Bad contract, perhaps?)

And Julie Delpy’s 2 Nights in Paris continues its strong New York City run, averaging over $30,000 on 2 screens. With close to half a million dollars in the bank, the film is poised to solidify Adam Goldberg’s status as the independent film world’s most bankable star. Someone get Ms. Kidman’s agent on the phone, I have an idea …

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

A flop 6 years in the making, Rush Hour 3 was almost beaten out at the New York City box office this weekend by Bourne Ultimatum riding high on fantastic word of mouth.

The rest of the country, however, was not as wary. The movie did decent nationally, accruing $50 million at 3,778 theaters. Chris Tucker has made three movies in the last 10 years. (Can you guess what they were?) He held out and reportedly got a $20 million paycheck against 20 percent. I don’t know exactly what that means in terms of Mr. Tucker’s bank statements, but it certainly makes him one the smartest men in Hollywood.

Stardust recouped 12.8 percent of its reported $70 million budget over the weekend. The movie did better in New York than its paltry $3,500 national average would suggest, but that is little consolation for the production executive at Paramount would greenlit this clunker. (Conversely, Michelle Pfeffeir’s agent deserves an Oscar—or an Ari, as in Ari Gold—for persevering despite what must have felt like an almost Sisyphean effort to find the actress work.)

Described as Annie Hall, but not funny, 2 Days in Paris was almost assured a strong opening here in the city. And it delieved, averaging an unbelievable $43,000 on 2 screens, edging out last week’s surprise contender El Cantante with a little over $86,000 in total box office here. (One wonders what could have been though, if the Domincan Day Parade hadn’t cut into J. Lo’s receipts on Sunday …)

Becoming Jane doubled its theaters, but didn’t come close to doubling its cash, managing only a 3.65 percent increase in box office, while its per screen average dipped ominously beneath $10,000. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say the film needed more sex. Just kidding! I love literature.

And the winner of this week’s straight-to-Netflix queue award is Rocket Science, which failed to break into our top ten, and appeared to fizzle nationally. Alas, Sundance raised the hopes of another progenitor of a coming-of-age, nerd to glory, story. Damn you, Sundance! Fie!

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

What a terrible weekend for Ben Affleck.

Matt Damon’s The Bourne Ultimatum grossed roughly $71 million over the weekend—grabbing a little under $1 million in Manhattan alone—and Jennifer Lopez’s El Cantante, in which she stars along side her husband Marc Antony, opened in New York City with a $34,342 per screen average, finishing right behind The Simpsons Movie in total gross and nabbing the number 3 slot on our chart. (How’s that sequel of Daredevil coming, Ben? Oh, it’s not?)

Granted the character Ms. Lopez plays in Cantante—the Bronx-born wife of the "King of Salsa," Hector Lavoe—was not much of a stretch, but perhaps she should be applauded for that. Brava Ms. Lopez for finally making a wise choice and being a part of a movie that has a bright financial future—well, at least in New York City.

And Mr. Damon must have made New Yorkers an offer they couldn’t refuse. (Ultimatum? Offer? Get it?) At a time when box office receipts tend to dip, the Big Apple matched the rest of the country’s enthusiasm for the third installment in the Bourne franchise. The movie averaged an astronomical $93,000 in ten theaters here in the city. In an interesting side note, reportedly 57 percent of moviegoers polled said Mr. Damon was the reason they saw the movie. Finally, Mr. Damon, it’s your fault.

Hairspray continues its stunning run, scoring close to $10 million in its third week, while No Reservations maintains an above-average run, keeping its per screen average above $10,000 in its second week. One gets the sense that the romantic comedy starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart should have done better in the city, what with our love of food and our intimate understanding of the titular frustration. But the one thing all city restaurateurs know is that we’re also very picky!

Becoming Jane stands out amongst the blockbusters that make out the bottom of our list. It averaged a respectable $15,000 on 4 screens in the city, which was fifty percent higher than its national average, which at $10,000, was actually a bit more impressive.

And the Straight-to-Netflix-Queue award this week unfortunately—and perhaps undeservedly—goes to Hot Rod, which went pffst after all the buzz, including a long profile of Andy Samberg in New York. But this is not such a bad thing, really. This one is likely to become a cult classic along the lines of Napoleon Dynamite and strong DVD sales should push it into the black. Just look at the crap Adam Sandler has made money on!

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

With the best and largest opening for a musical—even when adjusted for inflation—Hairspray was the number one movie in New York City over the weekend, beating out both Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry by a solid margin. What happened here, Manhattan? Do tourists come here to see movies, too?

Hairspray and Chuck and Larry switch spots on the national box office chart, with the Adam Sandler and Kevin Brown comedy besting the musical by $7 Million. Apparently there was some trepidation within the industry that the audience for these two movies would overlap and eat into each other’s profits. Wha? This could have been the smartest counter-programming move this summer, hands down.

Danny Boyle’s Sunshine—the science fiction actioner starring Cillian Murphy (who basically reprises his Red Eye role, but, y’know, on a spaceship)—cracked the top ten with an above $25,000 average on 3 screens. These are strong, but not fantastic numbers for Fox Searchlight, who has been in the Danny Boyle business since the surprise hit 28 Days Later.

Neither a “Talk of the Town” item, nor a much-rumored-about nude scene featuring Natalie Portman, could propel the Milos Forman directed Goya’s Ghosts into the top ten. In its defense, it is only playing in one theater and, well, the Portman scene involves torture. Such a turn-off!

Sicko’s pulse is slowing. Talk to Me came and went, while Rescue Dawn continued to hang onto the number 10 spot. (That Christian Bale is wily.) And for a second week in a row, Interview failed to make the list. Stop smoking, Sienna. Maybe you’ll have more stamina.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Not even a mob of Death Eaters—or bad reviews!—could have kept the throngs of Harry Potter fans from descending upon theaters this weekend. Grossing over $77 million over the weekend, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had the best five-day opening ($140 million) in the series’ history.

The film averaged over $60,000 per theater here in the city, clearly drawing from all socio-economic spheres including the small, yet well-represented cat lady demo—the film features the scariest cat lady in recent memory, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, Delores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). (A full, and very sad, disclosure: if I were a wizard—if only!—my Patronis would be a housecat.)

The other big opener this weekend, Talk to Me—the film starring Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor about Washington disc jockeys Peter Greene and Dewey Hughes—posted subpar numbers over the weekend despite solid reviews. The film has all the trappings of an Academy Award vehicle for the two stellar actors, perhaps the studio felt it wasn’t good enough for the fall. Either way, with a $14,000 average on just four theaters in the city, it just feels like a waste.

Transformers predictably dropped to second place with a 45 percent drop in box office, but it maintained a strong per screen average with $42,000—leaving Shia LeBeouf plenty of pocket change to support his hair product problem. (Is he trying to look like Gordon Gekko? Pat Riley? This is the next Tom Hanks?)

The unlikely tandem of Ratatouille and Live Free or Die Hard, third and fourth respectively, continue to post healthy numbers, grossing close to $200,000 apiece over their third weekend. Isn’t it grand when counter-programming works for everyone?

Werner Herzong’s Rescue Dawn is holding on by the tips of its fingernails to the bottom spot on the box office chart. Like Talk to Me, it is a critical darling, but it has yet to find a real audience this summer.

And Manhattan Weekend Box Office will keep its fingers crossed that Steve Buscemi’s Interview, starring Sienna Miller as a film celebrity who falls for a schlubby journalist (read: every schlubby journalist’s fantasy), will poke its way into the top ten next weekend. After totally hating on Sienna—especially after that terrible photo in Vanity Fair last year where she looks like my grandma—I’m kinda hoping this one works out for her. In a perfect world, being dumped by Jude Law should help your career. God knows, being Jude Law isn’t helping his.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Michael Bay, producer of the 2005 sci-fi clunker The Island (no, me either), must feel positively—transformed!—this morning after Transformers grossed over $150 million in 5 days and effectively wiped his past off the map.

What Damascene conversion resulted in his deep knowledge of what Americans—Manhattanites included—want in a big summer flick? (Robots! Tans! Boobs!)

In the city, the movie brought in close to $800,000 over the weekend alone. (And, please, someone make a Ryan Seacrest biopic so that Josh Duhamel can fulfill his destiny.)

Rats! Bruce Willis couldn’t stave off Ratatouille for a second week. The Pixar entry held on to the number two slot, as Live Free or Die Hard dropped to number 3. Michael Moore’s Sicko dropped a rung to number 4.

Robin Williams must have a congenital disease which keeps him from feeling shame. Little else can explain his career, let alone License to Wed, which failed to unseat Knocked Up, currently enjoying its 6th week as the most popular romantic comedy in the city. Someone get Judd Apatow on the phone for Josh Krasinski ("The Office"). He deserves better.

Is this what they mean by selling out? Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn—whose rapturous critical reception makes one think it’s the critics who have been locked up in a Vietnamese prison and this film was the rescue chopper—averaged roughly $19,000 on 3 theaters in Manhattan. It’s a healthy average, but its opening did not put enough distance between it and other films that have failed to stick around this summer. A Mighty Heart, which averaged close to $18,000 in its first weekend, disappeared quicker than a Nathan’s hot dog on July 4th.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Look who’s grossing now! Live Free or Die Hard out-muscled Ratatouille for the top spot in Manhattan, despite playing at two fewer theaters.

How many career resurrections can one actor have? The slow beating heart of Bruce Willis’career received another defibrillating shock this weekend when Live Free or Die Hard grossed $48 million in 5 days. It’s common knowledge that New Yorkers love the bald star. (See Perfect Strangers.) The film averaged $49,000 on Manhattan screens over the weekend.

Hey, it’s a rat! And it can cook! Ratatouille will do little to stem the tide of negative press the rat population has gotten in the last couple of months—what with their love of fried chicken—but it will certainly add a couple of zeros to the end of Disney’s bottom line before the year’s out. Few New Yorkers, who pay a premium for novelty, would want a rat in the kitchen, even if it could cook a perfect soufflé. Perhaps that’s why we didn’t show up in the same droves that other Americans did, but they ate up plenty of the Pixar entry, which averaged $40,000 at 12 theaters. Remy—the rat from the cartoon—has joined Splinter from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Templeton from Charlotte’s Web as top three most favorite rats. C’est Magnifique!

Sicko jumped to the third spot in Manhattan. It expanded to over 500 theaters nation-wide and its take—it grossed $4.5 million overall and averaged over $20,000 in New York City—is looking more Bowling for Columbine than Fahrenheit 9/11. But that’s OK by Messrs. Weinstein.

The Straight to Netflix Queue Award sadly goes to Evening. It had everything—a great cast, a great director, a heart rending story—but an audience. Our lot did their best to keep this one afloat, averaging $14,000 at 6 theaters, but it looks like the rest of the country wouldn’t know it if this one slipped into the night.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Evan Almighty eked out a first place finish at the box office over the weekend, earning little under $3,000 more than the weekend’s other major release, the John Cusack and Samuel Jackson thriller, 1408.

The Steve Carrell comedy—reportedly budgeted at $175 M.—is being considered a disappointment nationally, as it failed to connect to bible belters who apparently prefer appeals to their Christianity to be made via melodrama, rather than comedy.

The only explanation I can find for the popularity of 1408 is that there’s a large sweet spot in the Venn diagram where those who love John Cusack intersect with non-Christians and atheists. (Remember Grosse Point Blank!) There’s of course no data on how many in this group were scared away by Minnie Driver, whose poor acting, upon reflection, only provided them with further proof that God did not exist. Imagine how well it would have done with, say, Jessica Alba—which brings us to our next films on the box office chart!

There was little drop-off between the top two films in Manhattan and the next two: the gap was little more than $10,000. Fantastic Four dropped a whopping—whopping!—70 percent and it found itself in third place. (I guess word got out that it wasn’t such a hot film. What took so long?) And Knocked Up continued its solid run, settling into fourth place with a $22,557 average spread across 10 theaters. Ocean’s Thirteen, which held the number 2 slot last weekend, dropped down to number 5.

Angelina Jolie has had an easier time selling magazines than theater tickets recently. Despite largely good reviews, A Mightly Heart placed sixth in the city with a modest $18,000 average, and tenth nationally. Perhaps a complex drama about one woman’s struggle to find her kidnapped reporter husband set against the backdrop of global terrorism in Pakistan was not a perfect fit for the summer.

Coming in 7th is Michael Moore’s Sicko. While it has yet to register on a national level, the jeremiad against the healthcare industry had a healthy opening here in the city. The film brought in roughly $70,000 at one theater. (It certainly helps when that theater is the only theater in the country with the film …) It appears the Weinstein Co. and Lionsgate are taking the opposite approach than they did with Fahrenheit 9/11.

Too much competition doomed La Vie en Rose, which lost its steam over the weekend. And the straight-to-the-Netflix-queue award goes to You Kill Me, which barely registered on 6 theaters in the city. One too many accents for Ben Kingsley, I hear.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Well, now it's just getting silly. Does every blockbuster sequel deserve to have a great opening weekend? It's becoming as predictable as the plots of these movies whose coffers we're stuffing.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer amassed a small fortune over the weekend with a $57 M. take at the box office. (Manhattan contributed roughly $690,000.) I bet even the executives over at Fox were a bit surprised: "What?! You mean having Michael Chiklis on a national press tour actually helped?" (Finally, his agent can breath a sigh of relief. No longer will Michael start meetings with, "So when are you going to get the Commish back on the air?")

Remarkably, Oceans 13 and Knocked Up had a bit of a photo finish for the second slot, despite the fact that the Judd Apatow comedy was in its third week, while the Steven Soderbergh cash cow was in its second. They both averaged over $30,000 at 10 theaters—healthy numbers, especially for Knocked Up, which has yet to see a drop off steeper then 30 percent.

There's about a $250,000 bottoming out after these three, with the Edith Piaf film La Vie En Rose climbing three spots from last week, despite losing four percent of its audience. Its estimated $86,000 outgrossed Pirates of the Caribbean on 8 fewer screens—and five less than any of the other movies beneath it. While it is only ranked only 12th nationally, its $28,000 average bodes well for it in Manhattan.

And this week's straight-to-Netflix award goes to—no drum roll necessary, as it's painfully obvious—Nancy Drew. Julia Roberts' niece, Emma Roberts, couldn't buoy this doomed project, as it barely cracked the top 10 in New York City, despite playing in 9 theaters in its first weekend. Don't hold your breath for a Hardy Boys movie.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Al Pacino and Danny Ocean’s crew of devilishly cool criminals took in roughly $37 M. with Ocean’s 13—about the same as 11 and 12.

The film, with its decidedly Hollywood feel—smug actors with healthy-looking tans hamming it up in beautiful locations—did decidedly well in New York City, knocking Knocked Up from its perch. Here’s hoping Soderbergh will take his haul and make make Schizopolis 2: The Crazier.

Knocked Up got knocked down a bit, but it didn’t fall far, losing only a little more than a quarter of its audience from last week to this week. Pirates of the Caribbean lost another 50 percent, but held on to the No. 3 slot in New York City, largely due to the fact that it was playing in 13 theaters, three more than either Ocean’s or Knocked Up.

But by Manhattan standards, the true winner of the weekend was La Vie en Rose, a critical darling starring Marion Coutillard and Gérard Depardieu, about the legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf. The Picturehouse film averaged close to $30,000 on three screens. It’s an odd release for the summer, but it may be just be the palate cleanser New Yorkers need when the blockbusters start to skew even younger.

Waitress appears to have finally worn out its welcome here in the city. But so has Spider-Man 3, the only other film to have stayed in the Manhattan top ten for the last six weeks.

And there are two candidates for this week’s Straight-to-Netflix award: Surf's Up and Hostel 2. Surf's Up was obviously trying to capitalize on the success of Happy Feet (which was obviously trying to cash in on the success of March of the Penguins). Penguins haven't been this popular since Opus journeyed to Antarctica to find his mother.

Hostel 2 gave Americans both another reason not to travel and another reason not to go to the movies. Perhaps this award is a bit of wishful thinking, as it did average around $17,000 per theater. But it appeared to come in way below Lions Gate’s expectations and shouldn’t stay atop our charts for too long. Watch out, Mr. Brooks! As far as Lionsgate’s business is concerned (at least according this weekend’s New York Times), they don’t care where they scare up the cash: theaters, DVDs, coasters, whatever!

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Knocked Up grossed twice as much as Pirates of the Caribbean in Manhattan this weekend, even though it was showing on four fewer screens.

Of course, the success of the Judd Apatow comedy starring Fozzie Bear incarnate Seth Rosen and Grey’s Anatomy sexpot Katherine Heigel was never really in doubt. The marketing campaign has been ubiquitous—“You hear that, Seth? Don’t let him near the kid. He wants to rear your child.”—and the critical reception was unanimously positive. (A.O. Scott channeled Peter Travers and deemed it an “instant classic.”) And being the media whores that we are, we responded like we were reenacting a scene out of The Day of the Locust.

The rest of the country can be forgiven for not doing the same. (Perhaps most of them don’t view accidental pregnancy in quite the same warm, fuzzy way that Mr. Apatow does.) Pirates was able to outgross Knocked Up nationally, but it had a little help—something to the tune of 1500 more theaters.

Mr. Brooks (no relation) did modestly well, proving that Kevin Costner is not box office poison. But he ain’t Liquid Schwartz, either. The film averaged a little over $15,000 at 9 theaters here in Manhattan. It took the fourth spot both locally and nationally.

It was sandwiched in between Shrek the Third and Spider-Man 3, both of which continued their stomach-turning drops from their record-breaking box office highs.

Once, which at one point was looking like a sleeper hit, has stalled. Fox Searchlight expanded it into a third theater in the city, and its average took a steep drop. Luckily for the studio, Waitress continues to thrive, holding its own against demographic doppelganger, Knocked Up.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

With all the real New Yorkers absent this weekend, having escaped the broiling city for cooler climes, the box office in Manhattan largely followed national trends.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End had the touch of destiny, as it steamrolled over the previous Memorial Day Weekend box office record with a $129 million take. Shrek the Third predictably dropped to second place (and dropped hard) with Spider-Man 3 filling out the blockbuster trifecta.

William Friedkin’s return to horror, Bug, did decently, raking in $3.3 million on 1,661 screens, but its per screen average, both nationally and here in Manhattan, did little to guarantee that the septuagenarian would be helming Bug 2—that is if the studio in its infinite wisdom decides to even follow the horror film trend and make a sequel.

Rounding out the top five (both nationally and locally) is Waitress, the Keri Russell romantic comedy that keeps moving up the charts. Over Memorial Day Weekend, Fox Searchlight shifted the film into second gear, expanding it into 510 theaters—and with good reason. Its been out in New York for 4 weeks, and it’s still averaging over $10,000 a theater.

The biggest surprise so far this summer has been Once, an original musical from Ireland by John Carney. Granted, its only playing on 20 theaters nationally, but it moved into a second theater in Manhattan, and averaged over $30,000 for a second week in a row. It’s clear Fox Searchlight wants to build word of mouth on this one, much like they’re doing successfully with Waitress. Chat, chat, chat, Manhattan!

It looks like lovers of Japanese animation were able to will Paprika, director Satoshi Kon’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed Tokyo Godfathers, into Manhattan’s top ten. The film, which played on 2 screens, managed to average over $20,000 per screen, which is not too bad. But the summer can be a cruel time for little movies. Paprika could be delicious, but gone in a matter of weeks.

Shrek the Third may have done all of the heavy lifting this weekend with a mind-boggling $122 million opening ($950,000, or less than one percent, of which came from Manhattan), but it’s Once, an Irish musical, that caught our eye.

Fox Searchlight picked up the film at this year’s Sundance—it won an audience award at the festival and was nominated for a grand jury prize—for a sum reportedly south of one million dollars.

Like Waitress, they’re rolling it out slowly, debuting Once in only two theaters, one in New York and another in Los Angeles.

So far, it has the strongest per-screen average in the country, and the second strongest here in the city ($35,523), outpacing both Waitress and Away From Her, despite having none of the star power.

In a city that loves a tuner, this musical love story—“what Rent should have been,” as Kyle Smith of the Post put it—should pick up steam.

Shrek the Third has confirmed what we have come to realize about Manhattan moviegoing: We love our blockbusters just as much as they do in Peoria. The jolly green giant gobbled up the big apple box office, averaging a jaw-dropping $87,000 per theater. And it’s playing at theaters all over the island—not just in Tribeca and the Upper West Side. The adults like it, too!

Spider-Man 3 and 28 Weeks Later, numbers 2 and 3, respectively, on our chart, are still going strong even though both of their box office totals saw close to a 50 percent decline.

Continuing it strong run, Waitress only dropped 2 percent. The film is averaging over $11,000 per theater making its consistency no small feat. Look for Fox Searchlight to continue to expand it into more theaters.

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Manhattanites apparently love Spider-Man with the same insane intensity as the rest of America: Spider-Man 3 topped both the U.S. and Manhattan box office once again, raking in $60 M. over the weekend, while 28 Weeks Later, the follow-up to the zombie sleeper 28 Days Later, angled for the bloodthirsty “R” crowd and made away with $10 M.

Behind Spider-Man 3, the gory horror film had the strongest per screen average in the city, a very healthy $20,718. With Spidey finally facing some stiff competition next weekend with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (and Shrek 3 waiting in the wings), look for 28 Weeks Later to build off its strong opening.

But in the city (if nowhere else), Keri Russell’s career resurrection continued apace. Manhattan theater-goers—who appear to have a soft spot for the former Felicity star (and ersatz "University of New York" student)— ate her up this weekend in Waitress, where she plays a down-on-her-luck pie maker with a cute—if not entirely believable—southern accent and more lady troubles than she had at UNY! Playing at seven theaters in Manhattan, the film averaged a respectable $11,549 per theater, cracking the top three in total box office here. (It has yet to crack the top 15 films in the country.) Expect Fox Searchlight to continue expanding it into more theaters. They’re taking their time with this one.

The same cannot be said for Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan's Georgia Rule, whose wide release was met with lukewarm box office. It finished behind Waitress in New York City, despite playing in two more theaters. Perhaps asking Felicity Huffman to balance out both Ms. Fonda and Ms. Lohan (and the hunky, yet clueless Dermot Mulroney) was too tall an order.

And this week’s straight-to-Netflix award goes to The Ex. The romantic comedy starring Justin Bateman, Zach Braff and Amanda Peet played on 6 screens in Manhattan, but could not out gross Away From Her or Paris Je T’aime both of which only played on two. There’s hope, yet!

It doesn't exactly make a critic eat his heart out when a movie like Spider-Man 3, despite being panned by them (including our own Rex Reed), breaks all the records in the book.

Biggest opening weekend? Check. Biggest opening, period? Check. Biggest international release? Check.

But let’s add some insult to critical injury, please: Can you guess the two top-grossing theaters on the movie’s opening-day? L.A.’s gigantic ArcLight and … Sony’s Lincoln Square theater. Take that, Alice Tully!

If anything, the poor reviews only appeared to stir up more activity, like a stick poking a wasp nest. The film's earnings in Manhattan boil down to a $152,490 per screen average in New York City, five times the average in the rest of the country. Manhattanites added an astounding $1,829,875 to the movie's total cume.

"There'll be a fourth and a fifth and sixth and a seventh," Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair Amy Pascal told Daily Variety. "As many stories as Peter Parker has to tell, we'll do sequels." Hooray!

Psst …Spider-Man 3 was not the only movie to opening this weekend. There was Manhattan's basement-dweller, Lucky You, a romantic comedy starring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore. Although it played in eight theaters, it still did not win the counter-programming sweepstakes in New York City. Sarah Polley’s Away From Her, the Keri Russell vehicle Waitress and star-studded Paris Je T’Aime all made more money playing in two theaters, each with a healthy per screen average of over $18,000.

I guess they got some good reviews.

This weekend, as far as the movie studios are concerned, was the last weekend before the official start of summer. So you can forgive them if they took a bit of a break with the big movie releases. (Also, releasing a big movie in Manhattan this weekend is an ill-fated gesture, with the latest entry in the Spider-Man franchise making its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival.)

Audiences protested by not showing up at theaters this weekend, with box office numbers in the dumpster all over the country.

In Manhattan, none of the movies released wide this weekend—The Invisible (like Ghost, but for teens); Next (the inevitable Nicholas Cage flop after his success with Ghost Rider); The Condemned (Running Man redux)—could break the $10,000 mark for per screen average. (In New York City, The Namesake had a better per screen average in its eighth week than these three films could muster in their first.) And while The Invisible and Next were second and third in the country as far as total gross, none of them grossed over $10 million. Next!

Despite all of that, the straight-to-Netflix-queue award this week goes to Jamie Kennedy and his homage to breakdancing, Kickin’ It Old Skool. Considered bad enough to make you think you’ve been “X”ed after watching it, this film could not dredge up more than roughly $1,500 for each theater it played in. This, coupled with the fact that it only appears to be playing in four theaters in Manhattan, probably explains why it didn't crack Manhattan’s top 10. Again, The Namesake, playing in one more theater, in its eighth—eighth!—week had a higher gross in the city. Jhumpa, Jehosephat!

So, who is this week’s NYC champion? Well, it’s none other than Fracture, again. Take that shana punim Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins ol’ British mug, mix it with some matricide and you got yourself a movie with some staying power. Killing one's wife never seemed so civilized.

That poor man’s Ben Savage, Shia LaBeouf, with the number 1 movie in the country for the third week in a row, Disturbia, could only flag down a third place finish here in the city.

Lost among all this “Pre-Memorial Day” carnage is Hot Fuzz, a fantastic film wrongly marketed as a slapstick comedy. The Shaun of the Dead guys have made a smart, hilarious spoof of the American buddy cop movie. Leave it to the pop culture intelligentsia in Manhattan to pick this one out of the lot, like a pig sniffing for truffles.

While it may have slipped from 6 to 7 in the national box office rankings, it held firmly to the number 2 slot in the city. And both nationally and locally, there is one strong indicator that this one has legs: its total box office only decreased 16 percent from its first week in release to its second. (Standard drop-off is typically in the 30-40% range.) Look for this one to survive the Spider-Man 3 onslaught.

How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood.

But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide.

Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.

Spring weather wouldn't seem to be an inducement to hit the theaters, but Manhattanites got enough of the seasonal fever for lapping up Ryan Gosling in Fracture-that other movie where the knighted actor Anthony Hopkins plays a cultured yet homicidal maniac.

This time Hopkins kills his wife, which apparently played well on the Upper West Side: Fracture edged out Disturbia for the number one slot in Manhattan.

Disturbia, which is currently lording over the national box office, did not even take the number two slot in Manhattan. That honor goes to Hot Fuzz, a bobbie spoof from the makers of the hilarious Shawn of the Dead.

It had an impressive first weekend: It took the sixth spot in the country based on total gross, despite only being shown on 825 screens. (All the other top 10 films in the country are showing on north of 2000 screens.)

And Perfect Stranger continued its impressive Manhattan run. Despite poor showings nationally, the Halle Berry, Bruce Willis thriller was the number one movie in the city last weekend, and was fifth this weekend. Was it Halle? Bruce? She's a journalist; he's a businessman. Are we that predictable?