Ashton Kutcher personally punk'd all comers this weekend.
Making like Demi Moore, movie audiences couldn't get enough of the
former That '70s Show space case as he landed his two new films,
the critter cartoon Open Season and the all-wet action flick
The Guardian, 1-2 at the box office, accounting for more than $40
million in ticket sales, per final studio figures released Monday.
Topping the list was Open Season, opening with $23.6
million. The PG-rated film, in which Kutcher voices a manic
antler-challenged deer opposite Martin Lawrence's hunter-phobic bear,
averaged $6,163 on 3,833 screens. Open Season is the first
release from Sony's animation division and gave the studio a record 11th
number-one opener this year.
The flesh-and-blood version of
Kutcher did slightly less business as The Guardian tallied $18
million. Costarring Kevin Costner, the Coast Guard drama launched in
3,241 theaters and averaged $5,556, which distributor Disney said fell
within studio expectations. In any case, it represented the best opening
for Costner since another water-logged film, the much maligned
Waterworld, which splashed in with $21.7 million way back in
summer 1995.
The third major newcomer, School for
Scoundrels, was bullied by last week's number one, Jackass:
Number Two, and managed a weakling $8.6 million showing in fourth
place. The nerd-revenge comedy, pitting Napoleon Dynamite's Jon
Heder against Billy Bob Thornton, averaged $2,864 at 3004 locations.
Unspooling on 441 sites, Destination Films' faith-based drama
Facing the Giants, about an underdog high school football team
inspired by its God-fearing coach, scored $1.3 million on a $3,047
average to open in 12th place.
Meanwhile, in really limited
release two Oscar-buzzing films did royally.
Miramax's The
Queen, in which Helen Mirren portrays a stalwart Elizabeth II during
the emotional pandemonium surrounding the death of Princess Diana,
opened at just three theaters in New York on Saturday and averaged a
sparkling $40,671 for a two-day gross of $122,014.
Fox
Searchlight's The Last King of Scotland, with Forest Whitaker
channeling notorious Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, opened at just four
locations in New York and Los Angeles and averaged $35,725 over three
days for $142,889. Both movies will expand to more theaters this week.
Of last week's debuts, Jackass: Number Two fell 50
percent to $14.6 million for a total of $52.1 million. Jet Li's
Fearless dropped 53 percent, earning $5 million in fifth place for a
total of $18.1 million.
Faring even worse was the airborne
World War I drama Flyboys, which crashed 61 percent, falling to
eighth place with $2.4 million to bring its two-week gross to $9.9
million. Falling out to the Top 10--and probably losing any momentum for
awards recognition--was the Sean Penn-powered political drama All the
King's Men, in 11th place with $1.5 million for a two-week take of
$6.2 million.
On the flip side, Little Miss Sunshine
registered its 10th week in the Top 10 with another $2 million to bring
its total to $53.1 million.
After three down weekends, the
overall box office was up 5 percent over last week and 15 percent better
than this time last year.
Here are the top-grossing films from
Friday to Sunday, per final studio figures compiled by Exhibitor
Relations:
1. Open Season, $23.6 million
2.
The Guardian, $18 million
3. Jackass: Number Two,
$14.6 million
4. School for Scoundrels, $8.6 million
5. Jet Li's Fearless, $5 million
6. Gridiron
Gang, $4.6 million
7. The Illusionist, $2.7 million
8. Flyboys, $2.4 million
9. The Black Dahlia,
$2.1 million
10. Little Miss Sunshine, $2 million
In Theaters 
