Top Shelf at the B.O.!

Mondays are usually a quiet day. I do the Punch Drunk DVDs and that's generally it. So I thought I'd do something else on Mondays and take a looksie at the Box Office for the previous week.

#1. Watchmen-$55.7M

As expected, Watchmen took the top spot, raking in $55.7 million. Some people are already calling Watchmen a failure because it failed to reach analyst projections of $60 million on the opening weekend. Seriously? It beat out the #2 film, Madea Goes to Jail, by $47 million. The studio is happy. It met their projections. It's the third best March opening of all-time. And let's be honest: This is a film about largely unknown characters with no superstar actors attatched to it. Not to mention it clocks in at nearly 3 hours long. I think this is exactly what they should've expected. I predicted long ago that this film would barely break the $100 million mark for exactly the reason I listed above, and it appears I was way off, and I'm happy for that.

#2. Madea Goes to Jail-$8.8M/$76.5M

The fact that this piece of rehashed junk continues to draw money, to the tune of $76.5 million so far, only goes to show that people will pay to see anything, as long as it's presented to them in the most simpleminded fashion possible. The Perry Franchise has shown remarkable staying power so far, but he's pretty much out of his own material to adapt for the big screen. I'm dying to see what happens when he starts creating work solely for film, and if I'm right that we'll soon be seeing movies such as Slam Dunk Madea and Madea Goes to Africa.

#3. Taken-$7.45M/$118M

#4. Slumdog Millionaire-$6.92M/$125M

No doubt due to RNC Head Michael Steele promising Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal some "Slum love".

#5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop-$$4.2M/$134M

Who wants to bet that Seth Rogen's upcoming mall cop flick does poorly by comparison? America suffering from Rent-A-Pig fatigue.

#6. He's Just Not that Into You-$4.02M/$84.6M

#7. Coraline-$3.31M/$65.7M

#8. Confessions of a Shopaholic-$3.12M/$38.4M

#9. Jonas Brothers-$2.79M/$16.8M
No less than they deserve for stealing valuable 3-D projectors away from Coraline. Still, that's way too much for a concert film about three feux virgins.

#10. Fired Up!-$2.6M/$13.4M

What didn't make the list? Echelon Conspiracy, starring Shane West, Martin Sheen, and Ving Rhames. Pretty sad considering only one other new film of note dropped this week. Whoda thunk Mr. Walk to Remember didn't have no star power?