Box Office Update 8/4-8/6: Talladega Nights Races to the Top

Will Ferrell comes out on top. In the best opening of his career, he handily beat the nearest competitor by more than three times its gross. The Ballad of Ricky Bobby could just turn out to be the biggest money making comedy of the year. It is a fun movie, and could bring in the considerable NASCAR market. It will be interesting to see if it has the legs to hold it out through the dog days of summer.

Surprising me, Barnyard came in second place, fending off Captain Jack, who is still holding his own on the charts as it makes a play for $400 million. There were two other new arrivals in the top 10 this week. One of those was the excellent The Descent, hands down the best horror film I have seen on the big screen this year. The other film is The Night Listener, a thriller starring Robin Williams which clawed its way to number 1o.

Among the returning films, last week's number 1 did not fare well. Miami Vice dropped over 60% from last week, en route to a fourth place finish. Rather disappointing, I am sure, still it was a good movie with a lot to offer, but clearly it wasn't all that it could have been. Also taking a steep dive was John Tucker Must Die, which dropped over 56% from last week.

Four films dropped from the list this week: The Devil Wears Prada (11), Lady in the Water (12), Little Man (13), and My Super Ex-Girlfriend (18).

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	N	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	$47,042,215	$47,042,215	1
2	N	Barnyard	$15,820,864	$15,820,864	1
3	2	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	$11,001,686	$379,699,644	5
4	1	Miami Vice	$10,227,880	$46,284,665	2
5	N	The Descent	$8,911,330	$8,911,330	1
6	3	John Tucker Must Die	$6,150,596	$28,723,356	2
7	4	Monster House	$6,058,649	$57,010,414	3
8	5	The Ant Bully	$3,892,443	$18,152,994	2
9	7	You, Me, and Dupree	$3,643,430	$66,822,635	4
10	N	The Night Listener	$3,554,134	$3,554,134	1

Box Office Predictions Recap
Well, I got one right, position wise, if not money wise. The desires of the public are hard to presume and they are a fickly beast. I can only account for how I would like to see it play based on what I think the fickle public may do. I guess this proves I have no idea about what people want.

Actual	Prediction	Title	Wknd Gross	Prediction
1	1	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	$25,723,815	$32 million
3	2	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	$20,606,578	$17 million
4	3	Miami Vice	$11,663,308	$16 million
5	4	The Descent	$8,432,465	$14.5 million
2	5	Barnyard	$14,276,534	$11 million
7	6	Monster House	$7,144,275	$6 million
8	7	The Ant Bully	$4,096,933	$5.5 million
10	8	The Night Listener	$4,008,335	$4.5 million
6	9	John Tucker Must Die	$4,673,346	$3 million
11	10	The Devil Wears Prada	$3,788,228	$2 million

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