Looking down upon the rest of the box office, Eagle Eye soared to the top of the charts this weekend with one of the largest September openings in history. But the real surprise on the charts was in the number four position. Overall, the top ten sailed above last year's levels.

The combination of actor Shia LaBeouf, director D.J. Caruso and executive producer Steven Spielberg ruled the charts as the action-thriller Eagle Eye landed at number one this weekend with an estimated $29.2M for a per screen average of $8,319. The opening currently stands as the fourth biggest opening in September history behind only Sweet Home Alabama ($35.6M in 2002), Rush Hour ($33M in 1998) and The Exorcism of Emily Rose ($30M in 2005). It was also the biggest opening weekend in nearly two months since the The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor's $40.4M back during the first weekend in August. The last time LaBeouf and Caruso teamed up was on the surprise hit Disturbia which opened in April of last year to $22.2M on its way to a robust $80.2M finale. Reviews were not strong but audiences lined up for the biggest 'event' film in weeks.

In second place was the romantic drama Nights in Rodanthe based on the acclaimed novel from Nicholas Sparks. The Warner Bros. film grossed $13.6M this weekend, according to estimates, for a decent average of $5,018 per screen. The total fell just behind the opening of the last pairing between Richard Gere and Diane Lane, 2002's Unfaithful which opened to $14.1M. Reviews have not been kind to Rodanthe, but expect many couples to curl up on the couch with this film when it hits DVD during the winter.

Falling two spots to number three was the Samuel L. Jackson thriller Lakeview Terrace with an estimated $7M falling a steep 53% bringing its cume after two weeks to $25.7M. Look for the Sony release to end with a final gross in the $40M range.

 

Coming from seemingly out of nowhere and debuting in fourth place was the Kirk Cameron drama Fireproof. The film, which tells the story of a firefighter who must find a way to save his marriage, brought in an estimated $6.5M from only 839 screens for a strong average of $7,764, second highest in the top ten. The film has been heavily promoted to Christian groups and proves once again that religious-themed films can bring in an audience.

Fifth place belonged to the Coen brothers latest dark comedy, Burn After Reading. Starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, the film brought in an estimated $6.2M this weekend bringing its cume to $45.5M. The film is now the second highest grossing title for the Coen's behind only last years Academy Award winning No Country for Old Men which made $74.3M.

In sixth place with the best hold in the top ten was the animated comedy Igor which slipped only 29.5% to $5.5M, bringing its cume to $14.3M. Look for a final gross in the $25-30M range and a steeper drop next weekend as the family comedy Beverly Hills Chihuahua storms theaters.

The race for seventh place was a tight one as Righteous Kill and My Best Friend's Girl are reporting grosses within $3,000 of each other. Currently in seventh is the DeNiro/Pacino combination of Righteous Kill which took in an estimated $3.803M this weekend, bringing its cume to $34.8M. In eighth is the romantic comedy My Best Friend's Girl which laughed up an estimated $3.8M this weekend bringing its cume to $14.5M.

Debuting in ninth place with dismal results was the Spike Lee war drama Miracle at St. Anna which brought in an estimated $3.5M from 1,185 for a sad per screen average of 2,954M. And closing out the top ten was Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys which had the largest drop in the top 10, falling 56.5% to $3.1M bringing its cume to $32.8M.

The top ten films grossed $82.2M which was up 15% from last year when The Game Plan opened in the top spot with $23M; and down 2% from 2006 when the animated Open Season debuted at number one with $23.6M.

Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com