‘G.I Joe’ Rises to the Top – Box Office Results: August 7th-9th

It looks like G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra wasn't a flop as expected after all, raking in an estimated $56.2 million this past weekend. The movie was not screened in advance for critics, people wondering if Paramount was just nervous or the movie really did suck. Joe, starring Dennis Quaid and Channing Tatum, opened with good reviews; then to bad reviews; and now to mixed reviews; Cobra currently holds a 39% on poll site Rotten Tomatoes. That's far more than similar Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which has only 20% of critics enjoying it. It sure didn't beat Fallen's opening haul of $109 million, although what can compete with argueable summer 2009's biggest hit?

In second place was Julie & Julia, which also opened this weekend. Noah Ephron's comedy about a young woman (Amy Adams) attempting to copy famed cook Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) recipes and write a blog about it grossed an estimated $20.1 million, considerably more than the Adams/Streep duo's last movie Doubt ($5.3 million wide opening weekend). It's also destined to beat Doubt's total of $50.8 million in the coming weeks. G-Force fell a steady 44% to $9.8 million in third this weekend; Jerry Bruckheimer's animated family-comedy now up to $86.1 million domestic.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, constantly jumping box office spots with G-Force came in fourth this weekend, after holding second place the last. Potter lost over half its audience of last weekend (50.4%) to gain $8.9 million, with a total of $273.8 million domestic. Funny People took the biggest dive in the top ten this weekend, falling five places from first with $7.9 million. Still loving Funny People; box office numbers mean nothing to me!

And my Hangover watch continues! This weekend it left the top ten for eleventh place with $3.4 million. Its total is now up to an estimated $262 million. Another movie I loved, and love how other people did too!

Other movies that opened this weekend-

A Perfect Getaway, a surprisingly suspenseful thriller and loved among critics and fans alike (54% on Rotten Tomatoes!), debuted in seventh with $5.8 million, less than writer/director David Twohy's previous film Pitch Black's $11.6 million opening sum. Quirky romantic-comedy Paper Heart, starring Michael Cera and Charline Yi, opened with $206,000 in thirty-eight theaters. Cold Souls with Paul Giamatti grossed $63,300 opening weekend showing on only seven screens. (500) Days of Summer entered the scene at number ten after moving into 551 more theaters; up 34.1% to $3.7 million. The Sundance prodigy's total is up to $12.3 million

Here are the box office results according to studio estimates Sunday-

1. G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra…$56.2 million
   
2. Julie & Julia…$20.1 million
   
3. G-Force…$9.8 million
   
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince…$8.9 million
   
5. Funny People…$7.9 million
   
6. The Ugly Truth…$7 million
   
7. A Perfect Getaway…$5.8 million
   
8. Aliens in the Attic…$4 million
   
9. Orphan…$3.7 million
   
10. (500) Days of Summer…$3.7 million