The only new release this week, Angels And Demons, unsurprisingly took the top spot over a bunch of holdovers—but not by much. The second adaptation of Dan Brown’s religious-conspiracy-theory-lite novels, Angels And Demons once again teamed director Ron Howard with Tom Hanks, but came nowhere near the opening take of its predecessor, The DaVinci Code, which opened to $77 million in 2007. Angels And Demons, by comparison, topped the box office with just $48 million. That’s only $5 million more than Star Trek, which held up extremely well in its second week, landing at No. 2 with $43 million.
Star Trek is within spitting distance of becoming the top-earning blockbuster of the summer so far. The poorly reviewed X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which holds that title for the moment, continues its steep downward trajectory, dropping 44 percent to No. 3 with $14.8 million. That’s the second-biggest drop in the top 10, behind Next Day Air, which fell 44.5 percent to No. 9 with $2.28 million.
The rest of the top 10 held up pretty well, thanks to the lack of new-release competition. Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past landed at No. 4 with $6.86 million, ahead of Obsessed at No. 5 with $4.55 million and 17 Again at No. 6 with $3.4 million (in their third, fourth, and fifth weeks, respectively). Monsters Vs. Aliens continues to dominate the family market, moving up a spot to No. 7 with $3 million in its eighth week of release and the highest gross of 2009 overall. The Soloist, at No. 8 with $2.43 million, and Earth, at No. 10 with $1.68 million, round out the top 10.
More detailed numbers can be found at boxofficemojo.com.