Payne #1 for the weekend, W. finishes 4th.

[Yukari Yakumo]

Top five from Box Office Mojo:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2008&wknd=42&p=.htm

1 - Max Payne (Fox) - $18,000,000 in 3,376 theaters ($5,332/theater avg.)
2 - Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Buena Vista) - $11,200,000 in 3,239 theaters ($3,458/theater avg.)
3 - The Secret Life of Bees (Fox Searchlight) - $11,050,000 in 1,591 theaters ($6,945/theater avg.)
4 - W. (Lionsgate Films) - $10,550,000 in 2,030 theaters ($5,197/theater avg.)
5 - Eagle Eye (Paramount/Dreamworks) - $7,343,000 in 3,326 theaters ($2,208/theater avg.)

Stone's W. got beat by not just Max Payne, but also by a talking dog movie in its third week in theaters and a chick flick with less advertising and fewer theaters showing it. Suffice to say Lionsgate will be disappointed with this.

[Bicoastal]

1. On the plus side, it's ALREADY grossed more than "American Carol."

:)

[Pab Sungenis]

2. Yeah, but look at the per screen average. That's what counts.

Especially with Lion's Gate. When bookers see those numbers, they're going to jump up the number of screens for "W," probably to 2,500 or 3,000 in the next two weeks. The question then becomes, can Lion's Gate throw enough prints?

Lion's Gate isn't all about first weekend; they have long-term strategies in mind. They're going to send the film wider next weekend, and the grosses will climb.