There were two big surprises in this past weekend’s box-office derby, proving once again that no matter what the “experts” think, the filmgoers always have the final say. Evan Almighty, the Steve Carell-starring sequel to the Jim Carrey hit Bruce Almighty, took first place honors with $31.2 million at the box office, but was considerably lower than most forecasters had predicted. Mostly negative reviews and poor word-of-mouth didn’t help. The Two Daves had estimates in the $45 - $48 million range, on par with other predictions, so this obviously took everyone by surprise – none more than distributor Universal, who are probably right now scrapping plans for a third entry. Does that mean we won’t get to see Stan Almighty starring David Cross?
The other upset was the strong showing of the horror tale 1408 starring John Cusack. The Stephen King thriller brought in $20.6 million over the weekend, for an impressive $7,700 per screen average on nearly 2,700 screens. We were also in line with other predictions in underestimating Mr. Cusack and Mr. Jackson. MGM finally has a hit? Now that’s scary. In more limited release, Angelina Jolie’s well-reviewed drama A Mighty Heart opened to $3.9 million in 1,355 screens for a fair $2,900 per screen average.
Of the holdovers, Silver Surfer dropped a whopping 65% to $20.0 million, while the leggy Knocked Up fell only 22% in its fourth week. The latter has now surpassed the $100 million mark, and looks to end with about $150 million!
| Rank | Film | Total |
| 1 | Evan Almighty | $31.2 million |
| 2 | 1408 | $20.6 million |
| 3 | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | $20.0 million |
| 4 | Ocean's Thirteen | $11.4 million |
| 5 | Knocked Up | $11.0 million |
| 6 | Pirates of the Caribbean | $7.2 million |
| 7 | Surf's Up | $6.6 million |
| 8 | Shrek the Third | $5.7 million |
| 9 | Nancy Drew | $4.4 million |
| 10 | A Mighty Heart | $3.9 million |
© TLA Entertainment Group
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