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Weekend Box Office: Puss In Boots Claws Its Way To The Top

By InCinemas / 31 Oct 2011 (Monday)

Source: cinemablend.com

After the Shrek franchise went down in flames following the critical debacles that were the third and fourth movies, there wasn't much hope that spin off Puss In Boots would stand a chance at the box office. Despite taking the number one spot this weekend, Puss barely clawed its way to $34 million, a lower opening than any of the Shrek entries. That number is further depressed by the higher ticket prices for its 3D screenings. All in all, fewer than expected turned out for Puss' first (and likely last) solo adventure.

Puss and friends had some nasty competition to contend with, though, including a rare game seven of the World Series and a freakishly early snow storm in a large area of the country. Not included in that competition were other newcomers In Time and Rum Diary both of which fell flat.

In Time clocked a boring $12 million for a rough third place. That marks one of the lowest ever wide release (1,500+ screens) debuts for a Justin Timberlake flick. But that's little to complain about compared with Johnny Depp's Rum Diary which staggered in with just $5 million for an abysmal fifth place. For Depp that's the lowest major opening weekend since The Astronaut's Wife way back in 1999.

Despite being the only Halloween-esque entry in theaters this Halloween weekend, last week's number one, Paranormal Activity 3 took a beating, slipping 65% from last week to settle for second place. All around, a weak end to a weak October in a weak year at the box office where ticket sales continue to decline and overall sales figures are still lower than this same time two years ago.

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

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Weekend Box Office: Puss In Boots Claws Its Way To The Top