Finally, talk of the downturn in the week to week business comparisons is over. This weekend, the box office rose to $148.9 million compared to last year's $148.2 million.
I think the biggest surprise is that the charge was led by Fantastic Four, which opened to negative buzz and poor reviews. I saw it, and, while it was not nearly as bad as I had been led to believe it would be, it still left much to be desired. Its take of over $56 million caught analysts off guard, as they were predicting somewhere in the mid $30 millions, as reported at IMDB and Box Office Mojo.
War of the Worlds dropped off considerably, but still managed a hefty sum to place second. This while Batman Begins showed good legs finishing third. This is the most encouraging to me, and I encourage everyone to go out and see this excellent film.
Dark Water was a bit disappointing, failing to crack $10 million. I saw this as well, and, while not perfect, is a fine thriller dripping with creepy atmosphere.
| This Week | Last Week | Title | Wknd Gross | Overall | Week in release |
| 1 | N | Fantastic Four | $56,061,504 | $56,061,504 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | War of the Worlds | $30,469,118 | $164,978,282 | 2 |
| 3 | 2 | Batman Begins | $10,012,444 | $171,901,777 | 4 |
| 4 | N | Dark Water | $9,939,251 | $9,939,251 | 1 |
| 5 | 3 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | $7,872,275 | $158,669,309 | 5 |
| 6 | 5 | Herbie: Fully Loaded | $6,060,511 | $48,292,675 | 3 |
| 7 | 4 | Bewitched | $5,583,833 | $50,934,671 | 3 |
| 8 | 6 | Madagascar | $4,009,053 | $179,259,220 | 7 |
| 9 | 7 | Rebound | $3,024,349 | $11,513,266 | 2 |
| 10 | 8 | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | $2,600,800 | $370,819,889 | 8 |
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Edited: Tan The Man
Article comments
1 - chloejaz
Batman Begins should hit 200 million domestic. And it deserves every penny.
2 - Chris Beaumont
I hope it does, the drops have been less precipitous than other blockbusters. WOrd of mouth is getting around, and there have been repeat viewings. I think this has the legs to last the longest in the top 10 this summer. We shall see....
3 - Aaman
You may want to read and do a post based on this piece - pretty relevant