Weekend Box Office Went “Wild”

Being one of the most anticipated films of the year, it would’ve been a surprise if Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are didn’t do well at the theater. Luckily this was not the case, as the movie not only met, but surpassed, the expectations that had been set for it.

This past weekend’s release of Where the Wild Things Are raked in over $32.5 million, taking over the number 1 slot at the box office. Couples Retreat, last week’s holder of the position, was pushed from its place to drop all the way to the fourth spot.

The weekend also saw the openings of Law Abiding Citizen and The Stepfather. Law Abiding Citizen did well, taking the number 2 spot with $21.3 million. The Stepfather, on the other hand, saw a fairly quiet opening, taking in only $12.3 million and the number 5 position.

The low-budget Paranormal Activity continues to reap overwhelming success, bringing in another $20.2 million to grab hold of the number 3 position at the box office, moving up two places from last weekend. The positive response to Paranormal Activity has already warranted two expansions of the film’s showings, and the film will be expanding yet again this coming weekend.

Compared to last year, October’s openers are doing exceedingly well, ringing up 59% more than last year’s top films.

In particular, with the release of Where the Wild Things Are Warner Bros. has attained its largest-ever October opening. 2006’s The Departed had formerly been the highest October draw for the studio, but Where the Wild Things Are easily took that credit with $32.5 million intake far surpassing the $26.9 million brought in by The Departed’s opening.

This past weekend’s top films will face competition this coming weekend with the releases of Fox Searchlight’s Amelia, Lionsgate’s Saw VI, Summit Entertainment’s Astro Boy, and Universal’s Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant.