The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.
In a very tight weekend race, the Adam Sandler-Kevin James comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry took out the blockbuster sequel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, grossing an estimated $34.8 million to Potter's $32.2 million. The New Line musical Hairspray, starring John "Grease" Travolta in drag, scored $27.8 million in 3,121 theatres, making it the top opening movie musical of all time, even though it was forced to settle for third place.
Despite abysmal reviews, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry scored well with Adam Sandler's mostly male audience who decided to give him a chance, although it opened softer than most of Sandler's last few mainstream comedies with a per-theatre average of under $10 thousand. Produced for $85 million, it lost much of its potential female audience to the musical based on John Waters' '80s comedy, which did very well on Friday but lost a bit of business on Saturday, possibly due to the release of the latest and last "Harry Potter" novel, which hit bookstores on Friday night at midnight.
DreamWorks' Transformers dropped to #4 with $20.5 million, holding up well in its third weekend with only a 45% drop from last week. After three weeks in theatres, the Michael Bay blockbuster has grossed $263 million, making it the filmmaker's highest grossing movie to date.
Disney/Pixar's animated Ratatouille dropped two places to #5 with an additional $11 million to bring its running total to $165.6 million after four weekends, although it has a long way to go to attain the box office success of Pixar's previous offerings.
Also after four weekends, the Bruce Willis action sequel Live Free or Die Hard surpassed its $110 million production budget, adding another $7.3 million in sixth place to bring its total box office to $116.5 million.
At #7, the Warner Bros. rom-com License to Wed starring Robin Williams didn't do as well in its third weekend, dropping 49% to $3.8 million. It's grossed $38.7 million.
Dimension Films' Stephen King thriller 1408 took in another $2.6 million in 8th place to bring its total to $67.5 million.
Universal's two other comedies, Evan Almighty and Knocked Up, rounded out the Top 10 with $2.5 and $2.3 million, respectively, and cumulative totals of $93.5 and $142.7 million.
Danny Boyle's Sunshine opened in limited release, playing in ten theatres in select cities, where it scored $235 thousand, a respectable average of $23.5K per location, and a solid start for its expansion into over 400 theatres next weekend.
Last year, four new movies entered the Top 10 with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest holding its ground at #1, and it's looking good that this weekend's Top 10 gross will surpass that one.
