There were lots of movies new to theaters this weekend, and they all performed well, but the box office winner was still a bit of a surprise. That movie is the crime thriller “The Town”, which was expecting to come in behind fellow new releases “Easy A” and “Devil”, but instead outperformed them both with $23.8 million. It’s positive reviews, some of which have compared it to acclaimed films like “Gone Baby Gone” and “The Departed”, likely drew in audiences.
The teen comedy “Easy A” followed in second with $18.2 million. Also receiving good reviews, this movie stars Emma Stone as a girl whose life seems to mirror that of Hester Prynne from “The Scarlet Letter”. Stone has quite a fan base but hasn’t had a leading role until now, and it seems like a lot of people were happy to see her finally getting her due. But moviegoers seem to be losing faith in M. Night Shyamalan. While he only wrote the story for the new thriller “Devil”, having his name attached to the project didn’t seem to help it any, as it came in third with $12.5 million; a decent opening, but not as much as some were expecting. The movie’s claustrophobic setting (an elevator) seems to have also been a factor in deterring audiences.
Another new release was the animated comedy “Alpha and Omega”. The film received very little press, but still managed to come in fifth with $9.2 million. It followed last weekend’s number one movie, “Resident Evil: Afterlife”. That movie dropped to fourth this weekend, losing over 60% of its profits from last weekend with $10.1 million. This weekend also marked the tenth weekend the blockbuster “Inception” has been in theaters, and it continues to perform steadily, coming in eighth this weekend with $2.01 million.
The top 12 movies at the box office this weekend are listed below. Click the links to read my full review of each film.
- “The Town”: $23.8 million
- “Easy A”: $18.2 million
- “Devil”: $12.5 million
- “Resident Evil: Afterlife”: $10.1 million
- “Alpha and Omega”: $9.2 million
- “Takers”: $3 million
- “The American”: $2.7 million
- “Inception”: $2.01 million
- “The Other Guys”: $2 million
- “Machete”: $1.7 million
- “Eat, Pray, Love”: $1.7 million
- “The Expendables”: $1.4 million
All of the movies mentioned above are currently playing in the St. Louis area. Visit National Cinemedia for showtimes.
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