Teen sensation Superbad spent its fifth straight weekend in the Top Five grossing an estimated $5.2M and boosted Sony's cume to $111.3M. MGM's horror redo Halloween fell 47% to an estimated $5M in its third scare and lifted its sum to $51.3M.
 
Dipping only 27% was The Bourne Ultimatum which grossed an estimated $4.2M pushing the massive cume to $216.2M. Only one 2007 release has performed better in its seventh weekend -- Wild Hogs with $4.7M in April. Overseas, the Universal hit collected an estimated $20.8M from 4,333 theaters in 46 territories and enjoyed number one debuts in France, South Korea, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands. That lifted the international total to $125M and the global tally to $341M making it the biggest Bourne ever. Look for the $400M barrier to fall later this fall.
 

The sports comedy Balls of Fury drooped down to eighth place with an estimated $3.3M, off 41%, for a $28.9M total after 19 days for Focus. New Line's action sequel Rush Hour 3 held up well again sliding 32% to an estimated $3.3M for a cume of $133.2M to date. The family comedy Mr Bean's Holiday eased only 22% to an estimated $2.7M for a $28.5M sum for Universal.
 

There was plenty of activity in the arthouses as Oscar season got underway with strong limited launches from a handful of early contenders. Director David Cronenberg's crime thriller Eastern Promises generated the best average with its estimated $553,000 bow from 15 theaters for a muscular $36,867 per site. The R-rated tale won the top audience prize at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday boosting its industry profile and will expand on Friday to more than 1,300 locations nationwide. This weekend's results were almost identical to the platform bow of Cronenberg's last film A History of Violence which opened in mid-September two years ago in 14 theaters to a $515,992 frame and $36,857 average before expanding wide the following weekend with $8.1M from 1,340 venues and a $6,047 average. Coincidentally, Jodie Foster was number one at that time with Flightplan.

Sony's musical extravaganza Across the Universe was red hot also with a debut of an estimated $685,000 from 23 venues for a potent $29,783 average. Studio data showed that the Julie Taymor-directed pic skewed towards young women as the audience breakdown was 62% female and 57% under 25. Universe also widens on Friday and will be in roughly 400 playdates.

The Tommy Lee Jones military mystery In the Valley of Elah opened to solid results with an estimated $150,000 from nine locations for a $16,667 average. Warner Independent reported that the audience was more male and older. Directed by Paul Haggis, Elah will expand to 250-300 runs next weekend. The distributor's Daniel Radcliffe drama December Boys did not fare as well and grossed an estimated $18,000 from four theaters for a mild $4,500 average in New York and Los Angeles. Pic will widen to 10 theaters on Friday and will have a tough road ahead given the avalanche of limited-release options on the horizon.

Three films dropped out of the top ten over the weekend. New Line's stylish action thriller Shoot 'Em Up tumbled 55% in its second weekend to an estimated $2.6M giving the Clive Owen pic only $10.3M after ten days. A $15M final seems likely. The Nanny Diaries grossed an estimated $2.2M, off 31%, for a cume of $24M. The MGM release should finish up with just under $30M. Paramount's expensive flop Stardust took in an estimated $1.4M, down 25%, for a domestic tally of only $36.4M. With a reported production cost of $65M, the adventure film looks to end its run with a disappointing $40M.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $61.3M which was up 9% from last year when Gridiron Gang debuted in first place with $14.4M; but down 8% from 2005 when Just Like Heaven opened in the top spot with $16.4M.

Author: Gitesh Pandya, Box Office Guru