May 26, 2012

Basterds at the Box Office

by Rebecca Pahle | Published August 24, 2009

The Johannesburg-set alien pseudo-documentary District 9 debuted last week at number one, but one week in the top spot at the box office was all it was able to enjoy. It fell to number two this week, making way for Quentin Tarantino’s much-anticipated World War II film Inglourious Basterds, which made $37.6 million over the weekend. Despite receiving negative reviews from most critics, G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra was able to take the number three spot. Staying strong at number four was the romantic tear-jerker The Time Traveler’s Wife, while the Julia Child biopic Julia & Julia fell one spot to number five.

Also debuting last weekend was Robert Rodriguez’s Shorts. The family film played in nearly as many theaters as Inglourious Basterds, which puts into sharp relief the fact that Basterds‘ weekend gross was over five times that of Shorts. Another film to debut with disappointing results was Post Grad, starring Alexis Bledel; it took the number 10 spot, earning only $2.8 million. My One and Only, starring Renée Zellweger, made $60,708 on its opening weekend, impressive considering it was only playing in four theaters.

Next weekend doesn’t see any huge releases like Inglourious Basterds, but there is a chance that Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock will give Basterds a run for its money. Also coming out next week are Halloween 2 and, in limited release, the dark comedy Big Fan, starring comedian Patton Oswalt as a football fan who gets beaten up by his favorite player.