Audiences Just Go to Just Go With It

It’s a sad day for Justin Bieber. Not only did he not take home any hardware at last night’s Grammy Awards–he was nominated in two categories–his new concert documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never didn’t even nab the number one spot at the box office last weekend. Still, it did come in at number two with a gross of $30.2 million (bringing its total gross, including a few earlier screenings, to $31 million), so that and the fact that Bieber is a 16-year-old millionaire with legions of fans means he’s still having an OK week. New release Just Go With It is what (barely) kept The Bieb away from the top of the box office; the Adam Sandler-Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy earned $31 million. Coming in third was Gnomeo and Juliet, which earned $25.5 million in its first weekend and is paving the way for that garden gnome-themed Titus Andronicus that the universe has been missing so badly. Kevin Macdonald’s The Eagle came in a distant fourth with a gross of $8.5 million in its first weekend. Rounding out the top five was last weekend’s number one The Roommate; its weekend gross of $8.4 million brings its total to $26 million so far.

Also new in theaters this weekend was Cedar Rapids. The Ed Helms-starring comedy, which debuted last month at Sundance, earned $310,789 on just 15 screens, making for an impressive per-theater average, Other new releases were Carancho ($16,000) and Vidal Sassoon: The Movie ($14,274).

Next weekend, the first weekend after Valentine’s Day, will hopefully see an action movie devoid of either romance or comedy grab the number one spot. Thank goodness Unknown, about a man (Liam Neeson) who wakes up from a coma to discover his identity has been stolen, after which he presumably beats up a lot of criminals (a la 2008’s Taken), is being released this Friday. Competing with Unknown are Big Momma’s: Like Father, Like Son and I Am Number Four, neither of which have Liam Neeson throwing punches left and right. Brotherhood, The Chaperone, The Last Lions and Vanishing on 7th Street will be out in limited release.