Two new releases that appealed to widely different audiences combined forces to reenergize a slumping box-office this weekend, turning in numbers that bested the same frame last year for the first time in four weeks. G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra took the top spot by a wide margin with $56.2 million, more than the rest of the top five combined. Appealing mostly to the same young, male audience that made a record-breaker out of Transformers 2 (which itself just fell out of the top 10 in its seventh weekend), G.I. Joe could be on a similar path, starting with the title of the fourth biggest August opening ever.
Adult female audiences, on the other hand, made a second-place contender out of Julie And Julia, which posted a strong estimated $20.1 million take, the third $20 million-plus summer opener in four years for star Meryl Streep. The weekend’s third new contender, the thriller A Perfect Getaway, made a less impressive bow at No. 7 with $5.77 million.
G-Force held at No. 3 with $9.8 million, its 44 percent decline the smallest in the top 10. On the other end of the spectrum, last week’s top earner, Funny People, took a 65 percent tumble to No. 5 with $7.87 million, below last week’s silver medalist, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, which fell 50 percent to No. 4 with $8.8 million, pushing its total domestic gross ($273 million) to within range of the $300 million mark. The Ugly Truth landed at No. 6 with $7 million in its third week. Aliens In The Attic continues its unremarkable run through the top 10, falling from No. 5 to No. 8 in its second week with $4 million, ahead of No. 9 contender The Orphan, which grossed $3.73 million. Lastly, indie romance 500 Days Of Summer made its top 10 debut as it expanded to national release, taking in $3.72 million in roughly 800 theaters.
More detailed numbers can be found at boxofficemojo.com.