Box Office Update 1/4-1/6: National Treasure Sequel Three-peats While Juno Steps Up

National Treasure: Book of Secrets stood tall at the top of the box office for the third week in a row. It is the first film to make a three-peat since Disturbia back in April. The historically themed adventure has proven to be a potent box office hit and will cruise on by the $173 million take of the 2004 original. Of course, it has not had much competition since it's release, which isn't to say there are no other quality films at the multiplex, but nothing else that has been able to maintain this level of box office interest. It will be interesting to see if it has enough strength for a fourth weekend, one would have to think that it will begin to lose some steam at a greater rate.

The real battle this weekend was for second place. With barely $300,000 separating second and fourth, it was a hard fought battle with an unlikely winner. I had figured the top three to repeat from last week, with Alvin and I Am Legend picking up the rear. This year's version of Little Miss Sunshine, aka the little film that could, had different ideas. Juno stepped up to the plate and took the bull by the horns (how's that for a mixed metaphor?). It moved into full-fledged wide release and the critical buzz and terrific word of mouth has translated into a box office bucks. It jumped up to second place, and if its legs hold out (and there is no reason to believe they won't), it could reach the century mark, and so become the biggest hit ever for Fox Searchlight.

Following close on Juno's tale is the Will Smith smash I Am Legend. Here is a film that is exceeding expectations and is well on its way to topping $250 million and further cementing Will Smith's status as the biggest star on the plant, overtaking the spot vacated by pal Tom Cruise. Right on it's tale, in fourth, is the enormous surprise of Alvin and the Chipmunks, a film which will likely top $200 million. Not bad, considering the main focus was to merely recoup the $60 million budget. I wouldn't be surprised if sequels are attempted for both of these films.

Now, way down in fifth place you will find the lone wide release for the weekend. One Missed Call became the first wide release of 2008 and an early contender for worst of the year. It is a leaden misfire of a thriller that, while opening decently, will likely fall pretty quickly in the face of upcoming competition.

The rest of the field proved to be as strong as the top half. All of the films performed well, helping the box office to a strong start to the new year. There was even a new face to appear on the chart. Atonement made a return appearance, after placing in the top ten back in its second week of release. Its fifth weekend sees it expand to more theaters, and more people in the theaters. When I saw it Saturday night, it was nearly a sell out. It seemed to be well-received, which could translate to continued success should it expand further.

Next week will see new competition from the Ice Cube comedy First Sunday, Uwe Boll's latest abortion In the Name of the King, a new Veggie-Tales adventure with The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, and the wide expansion of the Nicholson/Freeman pairing of The Bucket List.

Two movies dropped off the top ten this week: Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem (11) and Enchanted (13).

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	1	National Treasure: Book of Secrets	$20,062,684	$170,870,795	3
2	5	Juno	$15,860,744	$51,667,586	5
3	3	I Am Legend	$15,717,458	$228,055,662	5
4	2	Alvin and the Chipmunks	$15,546,125	$176,283,861	4
5	N	One Missed Call	$12,511,473	$12,511,473	1
6	4	Charlie Wilson's War	$8,106,250	$52,552,540	3
7	7	PS I Love You	$7,834,467	$39,202,724	3
8	8	The Water Horse	$6,230,489	$30,823,470	2
9	9	Sweeney Todd	$5,536,538	$38,608,100	3
10	14	Atonement	$5,064,577	$19,155,607	5

Box Office Predictions Recap
I am actually pretty happy with how my picks turned out this week. I could have gotten more positions correctly, but there was a tight race for second as three of the films finished very close to each other. Even with the slots I got wrong, my predictions were all in the same ballpark. We will have to see if this is a trend, or a one shot deal.

Anyway, here is how I picked the field:

Actual	Prediction	Title	Wknd Gross	Prediction
1	1	National Treasure: Book of Secrets	$20,062,684	$21.5 million
4	2	Alvin and the Chipmunks	$15,546,125	$18 million
3	3	I Am Legend	$15,717,458	$16 million
2	4	Juno	$15,860,744	$12.5 million
5	5	One Missed Call	$12,511,473	$9 million
6	6	Charlie Wilson's War	$8,106,250	$7.5 million
8	7	The Water Horse	$6,230,489	$5.5 million
7	8	PS I Love You	$7,834,467	$5 million
11	9	Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem	$4,484,155	$4 million
9	10	Sweeney Todd	$5,536,538	$3.5 million