1. "Where The Wild Things Are" ($32.5 million)
2. "Law Abiding Citizen" ($21.3 million)
3. "Paranormal Activity" ($20.3 million)
4. "Couples Retreat" ($17.9 million)
5. "The Stepfather" ($12.3 million)

The wild rumpus was in full swing at the box office this weekend as "Where The Wild Things Are," the Spike Jonze-directed adaptation of Maurice Sendak's much-beloved children's book, decisively outgrossed the competition for a first place finish. "Wild Things" managed a $32.5 million intake by Sunday's conclusion, which wasn't quite as high as what some watchdogs thought the film might earn, but it's not a bad start towards earning back its $80 million budget. Read more...

1. "Couples Retreat" ($35.3 million)
2. "Zombieland" ($15 million)
3. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" ($12 million)
4. "Toy Story" & "Toy Story 2" (3-D Double Feature) ($7.7 million)
5. "Paranormal Activity" ($7 million)

Taking vacation time is always a good thing for everybody, but it's particularly beneficial for Universal this weekend as "Couples Retreat" booked a flight to the number one spot at the box office. The film managed $35.3 million over the course of the weekend with a per screen average of $11 thousand, which is hardly a laughable result despite the movie's comedic tone. Read more...

1. "Couples Retreat" ($12.3 million)
2. "Zombieland" ($4.75 million)
3. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" ($3.1 million)
4. "Toy Story" & "Toy Story 2" (3-D Double Feature) ($2.54 million)
5. "Paranormal Activity" ($2 million)

The cheese stands alone as the Vince Vaughn-starring "Couples Retreat," the weekend's only new wide release, debuted on Friday in an expected first place finish at the box office. "Couples Retreat" marks the directorial debut of Peter Billingsley, who is most famous for his childhood portrayal of Ralphie in the classic "A Christmas Story" — apparently, Billingsley didn't shoot his eye out, because his directorial vision resulted in an $11.5 million Friday opening according to the numbers from Deadline Hollywood Daily. Read more...

1. "Zombieland" ($25 million)
2. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" ($16.7 million)
3. "Toy Story" & "Toy Story 2" (3-D Double Feature) ($12.5 million)
4. "The Invention of Lying" ($7.35 million)
5. "Surrogates" ($7.34 million)

Based on yesterday's projections, the remainder of the box office weekend played out as many suspected it would. Unsurprisingly, the Woody Harrelson-starring "Zombieland" took the first place prize with $25 million, surpassing its $23.6 million budget in its first weekend in theaters. The creature-filled dark comedy, which also stars notable up-and-comers Jesse Eisenberg ("Adventureland"), Emma Stone ("Superbad") and Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine"), marks the sixth time a Sony film has opened in the number one spot this year. Read more...

1. "Zombieland" ($9.4 million)
2. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" ($3.7 million)
3. "Toy Story" & "Toy Story 2" (3-D Double Feature) ($3.2 million)
4. "The Invention of Lying" ($2.5 million)
5. "Surrogates" ($2.2 million)

One might wonder why Sony Pictures is so happy in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, but the movie studio has plenty of reasons to smile as the Woody Harrelson-starring "Zombieland" nabbed the top spot at the box office on its opening day. The film earned $9.4 million going into Saturday, and Deadline Hollywood Daily's Nikki Finke is projecting a $25 million weekend total for the film. The movie was produced for an estimated $23.6 million, so "Zombieland" should have no trouble clawing its way towards the profit margin by Sunday's end. Read more...

1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($24.6 million)
2. "Surrogates" ($15 million)
3. "Fame" ($10 million)
4. "The Informant!" ($6.9 million)
5. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" ($4.7 million)

Moviegoers on the American east coast woke up to both a literal downpour of rain as well as an irrefutable onslaught of oh-so-delicious "Meatballs." The Sony Pictures Animation film easily won the box office for its second weekend in a row with a $24.6 million intake, resulting in a total of $60 million since its debut last weekend. Read more...

1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($5.6 million)
2. "Surrogates" ($5 million)
3. "Fame" ($3.5 million)
4. "The Informant!" ($2 million)
5. "Pandorum" ($1.6 million)

If the Bruce Willis-starring comic book movie "Surrogates" had one obstacle to overcome this weekend, it was "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," the Sony Pictures Animation film that reigned supreme over last weekend's box office. Truly, it's a difficult decision for moviegoers -- experience a world filled with robotic analogues that can do and see anything you wish them to, or behold the spectacle of delectable food products raining gloriously upon your face. In the end, it looks like taste buds just barely won the battle. Read more...

1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($30.1 million)
2. "The Informant!" ($10.5 million)
3. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" ($10 million)
4. "Love Happens" ($8.4 million)
5. "Jennifer's Body" ($6.8 million)

Unsurprisingly -- particularly given its $8 million intake on Friday -- "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" is the clear-cut winner at the box office this weekend. After outgrossing the competition by almost $5 million on Friday, the Bill Hader-starring "Meatballs" went on to sweep the weekend with a healthy $30.1 million serving. Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that the animated family film's final box office intake is greater than initially forecasted at the weekend's outset thanks largely to families churning out for Saturday matinees. Read more...

1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($8 million)
2. "The Informant!" ($3.7 million)
3. "Love Happens" ($3.2 million)
4. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" ($3 million)
5. "Jennifer's Body" ($2.7 million)

What do Bill Hader, Matt Damon, Jennifer Aniston and Megan Fox all have in common? No, they're not signing up for an ensemble dramedy, though that would be nice -- instead, all four actors are duking it out at the box office this weekend with their respective debuting films "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," "The Informant!," "Love Happens" and "Jennifer's Body." Read more...

Before diving in with the coming week's releases, let's take a quick look at last week's. I think the poll results usually paint a pretty telling picture of who is reading this blog. The weekend's big box office winner, Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself," failed to pick up a single vote in the poll. "Sorority Row" took top spot in the poll (70% of your votes), followed in a distant second by "Whiteout" and "9," which were basically tied, at 15% and 13% respectively.

My takeaway is that you readers are on the younger side -- ie below 30, or at least not yet parents -- and that you prefer spectacle to schmaltz. That's definitely an overly broad generalization, but I do find the fact the weekend's biggest earner, by quite a wide margin I might add, didn't even pick up one vote in last week's poll. Now, let's take a look at what's in store this week... Read more...