Weekend Box Office

Hulk continued to smash, as for the third weekend in a row, The Avengers is continuing to smash records and every other film that dares to challenge its supremacy.  A good thing for the films writer\director Joss Whedon, a great talent (just a thought however, why couldn't this level of popularity of been afforded when he was shepherding the brilliant TV series Buffy, the Vampire Slayer?), but onward with the Avengers onslaught, plus co-penning the springs horror hit The Cabin in the Woods, it's safe to safe Whedon can do whatever the hell he pleases for a while which is great news for all, even if...gulp, The Avengers itself isn't the greatest superhero film ever made...I shield from potentially dismaying comments.

1. THE AVENGERS- $55 million \ $457 million total
2. BATTLESHIP- $25.3 million total- the mash-up of Transformers and Battle: Los Angeles got slugged around in much the same sense the Hulk tossed around Loki-- good news for modern filmmaking; bad news for Hasboro stock.
3. THE DICTATOR- $17.4 million \ $24.4 million total- Sasha Baron Cohen's latest was a far cry from Bruno's $30 million opening weekend, but all things considered, this isn't a bad start for the racy provocateur coming off a badly received film.
4. DARK SHADOWS- $12.7 million \ $50.9 million total- Tim Burton's take on the '60s soap opera will hurt given its $150 million production cost; I would like to stand on record that this is a sign both Burton and muse Johnny Depp should take a badly needed break to recharge their once formidable batteries.
5. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING- $10.5 million total- Not horrible considering the product.
6. THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL- $3.2 million \ $8.2 million total- Fox Searchlight should be placed their senior indie is picking up major steam...landing in the top six on only 356 screens.  Judi Dench is clearly the Hulk of the over fifty crowd.
7. THE HUNGER GAMES- $3 million \ $391 million- Sure, some of its clout has been somewhat diminished with the onslaught of The Avengers, but this film is still on a hell of a ride, down an scant 33% in its 9th weekend of release...should coast by the $400 million mark soon.
8. THINK LIKE A MAN- $2.7 million \ $85 million total
9. THE LUCKY ONE- $1.7 million \ $56 million total- Far more interested in Zac Efron's next film, The Paperboy, debuting at Cannes next week with Nicole Kidman...anyone?
10. THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS- $1.4 million \ $24 million total- I saw this picture two weeks ago; I should probably write about it...I liked it.

OTHER NOTABLES:

• BERNIE- Richard Linklater's latest starring Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine is quietly becoming an indie champion averaging $5,000 on 95 screens in 4 weeks of play for a total of $1.1 million so far.
• HYSTERIA- Victorian-era period piece about the invention of the vibrator debuted modestly at $8,000 per-screen on 5 screens for a $40,000 cum so far.  Stars Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
• VIRGINIA- Dustin Lance Black's directorial debut, starring Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris, was butchered when it debuted at the Toronto Film Festival last fall, and promptly earned a limp $6,000 on 5 screens.