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Weekend Box Office: No One Wins When Hollywood Tanks This Badly

By InCinemas / 03 Oct 2011 (Monday)

Source: cinemablend.com

America took one look at the new offerings in movie theaters this weekend and passed, instead heading straight for the leftovers table. Despite four brand spanking new options hitting screens it was last weekend's top three who remained on top.

After two weekends at number one, The Lion King traded places with last week's number three entry Dolphin Tale. Dolphin Tale has been treading water at the box office, adding $14 million this weekend and barely breaking even with its modest $37 million budget. The Lion King re-release, on the other hand, has now added almost $80 million to the movie's running total, bringing the gross domestic sales to $408 million. That was good enough to push in into the top ten all-time biggest cash earners, edging Spider-man off of the list.

What was originally touted as a limited engagement two week appetite builder for the Blu-ray release of the 1994 animated feature has turned into one of the more successful re-releases of all time. If Disney leaves the film in theaters for much longer it could push further up that all time list, displacing the likes of Toy Story 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

As for the newcomers, the results were beyond dismal. The gravely mismarketed drama 50/50 and the barely marketed Courageous duked it out for box office table scraps, settling in at fourth and fifth place with $8.8 million apiece. Critcally panned drama Dream House came in a close sixth with just $8.2 million.

The fourth newcomer earned a special place in box office history. What's Your Number landed in eighth place with just $5.6 million and according to records at Box Office Mojo it suffered the fifth worst opening ever for a movie in very wide release (3,000+ theaters). The debate over whether or not Anna Faris is destined for stardom is irrelevant. Whether you love her or hate her, she's officially not bankable.

For the full weekend top ten check out the chart below:

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Weekend Box Office: No One Wins When Hollywood Tanks This Badly