'The Final Destination' closes summer season with $15.4m, Sept. 4-7, 2009

The summer box office season came to an end with the horror sequel The Final Destination topping the box office for the second straight weekend. Over the extended four day Labor Day weekend the film managed $15.4 million, just edging Inglourious Basterds which finished with $15 million this weekend. Newcomers All About Steve and Gamer finished third and fourth, while Sony's sleeper smash District 9 rounded out the top five, becoming the 20th film of 2009 to break the century mark.

Topping the box office for the second week in a row was Warner's horror-thriller The Final Destination, which took in $15.4 million over the four-day weekend. In 11 days the $40 million budgeted pic has grossed $50.7 million, and should wind up with $75 million domestic.

Quetin Tarantino's WWII rampage Inglourious Basterds held onto second place with $15 million, bringing the $70 million budgeted Weinstein Co. release to an incredible $91.8 million domestic. Add to that a $95.2 million international haul, and the film's worldwide total stands at $178.5 million.

Fox's romantic comedy All About Steve with an estimated finished in third with $13.9 million, despite being universally trashed by critics. Starring Sandra Bullock and The Hangover's Bradley Cooper, the film averaged a strong $6,175 in 2,251 theaters.

Gerard Butler's actioner Gamer shrugged off similarly poor reviews to open in fourth with $11.2 million. The R-rated Lionsgate pic averaged a mediocre $4,476 in 2,502 theaters. Expect steep declines in the coming weeks.

Sony's smash hit District 9 surged past the $100 million mark this weekend with its $9 million holiday haul, becoming the 20th film of 2009 to do so. The sci-fi actioner has now grossed $103.3 million domestic, and could wind up with $140 million by the end of its run.

The numbers, Sept. 4-7, 2009

THE TOP TEN		Weekend	Theaters	Avg.	Total Gross	%+-	Wks	Distributor
1	The Final Destination	$15,445,000	3,121	$4,949	$50,654,000	-43.6	2	Warner Bros.
2	Inglourious Basterds	$15,031,000	3,358	$4,476	$95,226,000	-22.1	3	Weinstein Co.
3	All About Steve	$13,900,000	2,251	$6,175	$13,900,000	-	1	Fox
4	Gamer	$11,200,000	2,502	$4,476	$11,200,000	--	1	Lionsgate
5	District 9	$9,000,000	3,139	$2,867	$103,274,000	-12.4	4	Sony
6	Halloween 2	$7,074,000	3,088	$2,291	$27,130,000	-56.7	2	Weinstein Co.
7	Julie & Julia	$7,000,000	2,528	$2,769	$80,640,000	-0.5	5	Sony
8	G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	$6,700,000	2,846	$2,354	$141,015,000	-13.2	5	Paramount
9	The Time Traveler's Wife	$5,455,000	2,803	$1,946	$55,797,000	-15.5	4	Warner Bros.
10	Extract	$5,313,000	1,611	$3,298	$5,313,000	--	1	Miramax

'Final Destination' edges 'Basterds' for top spot, August 28-30, 2009

Two R-rated horror flicks battled it out against last week's champ Inglourious Basterds for the top spot this weekend, with the 3D thriller The Final Destination easily beating out all other competitors with a strong $28.3 million debut. It was the third straight weekend (and fourth in five weeks) that an R-rated pic topped the charts, following Basterds and District 9. Quentin Tarantino's Basterds slipped a better than expected 47% to $20 million, while Rob Zombie's Halloween II finished in third with a $17.3 million bow. Focus Features' comedy Taking Woodstock opened a distant ninth with $3.7 million.

Thanks to a massive ad campaign and the promise of in-your-face 3D horror thrills, audiences came out in big numbers for Warner's horror sequel The Final Destination. Budgeted at a modest $40 million, the 3-D pic took in a strong $28.3 million, averaging $9,079 in a wide 3,121 theaters. Offering the 3-D version of the film in over half of its theaters (approximately 1,700), the film's increased margins helped it post by far the biggest opening in the Final Destination franchises history, blowing by previous best Final Destination 3, which took in $19.2 million in February 2006.

Dropping 47% to second place was Quentin Tarantino's WWII pic Inglourious Basterds, taking in another strong $20 million this weekend. That brought its ten day cume to an impressive $73.8 million. Buoyed by excellent reviews and good word of mouth, the $70 million budgeted gore fest is on pace to blow past $100 million. Internationally, the Weinstein Co. produced actioner took in $19.4 million, bringing its overseas cume to $59.1 million. Universal owns the film's international rights, while the Weinstein Co. is handling domestic distribution.

Debuting in third was another Weinstein Co. film, the horror sequel Halloween II with $17.4 million. Despite the big competition in front of it, the Rob Zombie-directed pic averaged a solid $5,754 in 3,025 theaters. The debut fell well short of its 2007 predecessor Halloween, which took in $26.4 million in its debut. Reviews were poor to say the least.

Sony's acclaimed sci-fi pic District 9 slipped just 41% to fourth with $10.7 million. In just 17 days the $30 million budgeted film has grossed $90.8 million, and should have no problems surpassing $100 million by next weekend. Directed by newcomer Neil Blomkamp and starring a cast of unknowns, District 9 should go down as one of the most pleasant surprises of the summer season.

The numbers, August 28-30, 2009

THE TOP TEN		Weekend	Theaters	Avg.	Total Gross	%+-	Wks	Distributor
1	The Final Destination	$28,335,000	3,121	$9,079	$28,335,000	--	1	Warner Bros.
2	Inglourious Basterds	$20,041,000	3,165	$6,332	$73,760,000	-47.3	2	Weinstein Co.
3	Halloween 2	$17,405,000	3,025	$5,754	$17,405,000	--	1	Weinstein Co.
4	District 9	$10,700,000	3,180	$3,365	$90,813,000	-41.3	3	Sony
5	G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	$8,000,000	3,467	$2,307	$132,436,000	-34.5	4	Paramount
6	Julie & Julia	$7,400,000	2,503	$2,956	$70,992,000	-15.9	4	Sony
7	The Time Traveler's Wife	$6,745,000	2,961	$2,278	$48,193,000	-30.8	3	Warner Bros.
8	Shorts	$4,870,000	3,105	$1,568	$13,565,000	-24.0	2	Warner Bros.
9	Taking Woodstock	$3,749,000	1,393	$2,691	$3,769,000	--	1	Focus
10	G-Force	$2,845,000	1,926	$1,477	$111,801,000	-30.9	6	Buena Vista