So long as he isn't trying anything different (read: competently crafted and remotely interesting) like Reign Over Me or Punch-Drunk Love, Adam Sandler remains one of the most bankable stars in the business. Despite a little controversy and the usual toxic reviews, Sandler's I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry debuted at #1 at the weekend box office with $34.7 million, and should be prove to be a landmark for gay tolerance/intolerance. Perhaps the most surprising news was the robust performance of the Broadway adaptation Hairspray, which rode stellar reviews to a third place finish and $27.8 million, far surpassing the expectations of many prognosicators. The positive notices also suggest that it will leapfrog over Chuck & Larry in the coming weeks, too, buoyed by stronger word-of-mouth. In what has become a pattern this summer, last week's monster blockbuster, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, dropped about 60% in its second week, though its $32.1 million take was still enough for second and it's already sailed past the $200 million mark domestically.
Not much action in limited release, other than Danny Boyle's Sunshine, which netted a strong $23,000 per-screen average on 10 screens, and Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts, which opened to an abysmal $3,400 per-screen average after getting savaged by the critics.
More detailed numbers at Box Office Mojo.