12/11 Weekend Box Office Results

As expected The Princess and the Frog captured the top spot at the box office this weekend. It was able to make $25 million which is right about in line with expectations. The Disney film appealed primarily to females and didn’t have the benefit of being in 3D. It knocked The Blind Side out of #1 but that movie continues to drop at an astonishingly slow pace down only 22% from last weekend for $15 million more. It has now made $150 million since release.

The other new entry was Invictus which had buzz as a potential Oscar contender. Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman carried it to a $9 million opening which is a little disappointing. It should hold up pretty well over the coming weeks however.

Up in the Air expanded to some new markets and playing on just 72 screens nationwide was able to make $2.5 million putting it 11th. Its per-screen average of $34,000 is very impressive and a good sign of things to come when it expands on Christmas. The Lovely Bones opened in very limited release showing on only three screens. The Peter Jackson film averaged $38,000 per-screen which was the highest of any movie out.

This was basically the calm before the storm. Avatar releasing on the 18th and Sherlock Holmes on Christmas are both expected to be massive.

1- The Princess and the Frog $25M (New)
2- The Blind Side $15M ($150M)
3- Invictus $9M (New)
4- The Twilight Saga: New Moon $8M ($267M)
5- A Christmas Carol $6.9M ($124M)
6- Brothers $5M ($17.4M)
7- Old Dogs $4.4M ($40M)
8- 2012 $4.4M ($155M)
9- Armored $3.5M ($11.8M)
10- Ninja Assassin $2.7M ($34.3M)