BOX OFFICE TUMBLES TO YEAR’S LOW

It turned out that last weekend’s total box office, already acknowledged as the year’s lowest, was actually even lower, as several films were overestimated by their studios on Sunday. Contagion led the list, opening with $22.4 million, down from an estimated $23.1 million. Another new film, the critically praised Warrior, wound up with just $5.2 million, down from Sunday’s estimate of $5.6 million. Two other new films were not only flops, but two of the biggest flops ever. The Adam Sandler-produced Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star was stillborn with just $1.42 million, but that was a whole lot better than the horror film Creature‘s total — just $331,000 on more than 1,500 screens.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):
1. Contagion, Warner Bros., $22,403,596, (New); 2. The Help, Disney, $8,926,142, 5 Wks. ($137,327,800); 3. Warrior, Lionsgate, $5,242,107, (New); 4. The Debt, Focus, $4,772,045, 2 Wks. ($21,869,001); 5. Colombiana, Sony/Tristar, $3,947,582, 3 Wks. ($29,726,288); 6. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 20th Century Fox, $3,886,285, 6 Wks. ($167,847,116); 7. Shark Night, Relativity Media, $3,408,413, 2 Wks. ($14,672,592); 8. Apollo 18, Weinstein Co. $2,851,349, 2 Wks. ($14,939,303); 9. Our Idiot Brother, Weinstein Co. $2,650,528, 3 Wks. ($21,309,547); 10. Spy Kids: All The Time in The World, Weinstein Co. $2,501,432, 4 Wks. ($34,223,018).