Little Fockers Wins Box Office Again

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/01/02/box-office-report-little-fockers/

He may be able to shoot flying cornbread while under the influence, but the Dude couldn’t quite take down Ben Stiller and his Little Fockers this New Year’s weekend. Fockers dropped 15 percent but still won the frame with $26.3 million, according to studio estimates. The PG-13 comedy, the third in the Meet the Parents franchise, has so far grossed $103.2 million in two weeks. By comparison, Meet the Fockers, which opened six years ago on the same day as Little Fockers, had tallied $162.5 million by this point. However, even though the series has clearly lost some of its luster, Little Fockers is a notable win for Universal — the studio hasn’t seen a movie pass $100 million since Despicable Me did in the middle of July.

True Grit fell a minuscule 1 percent and lassoed $24.5 million. The $38 million Western, starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, has cumulatively made $86.8 million, and has now passed No Country for Old Men to become the biggest hit ever for directors Joel and Ethan Coen. In third place, Disney’s TRON: Legacy slipped 4 percent for $18.3 million, bringing its domestic total to $130.9 million. (For those who are curious, the original TRON grossed $33 million in 1982, or $89.2 million when adjusted for inflation). New Year’s weekend was particularly accommodating to Yogi Bear, which climbed 66 percent to consume $13 million. Family films usually see strong returns the weekend after Christmas, as parents scramble to find ways to entertain the little ones who are still on holiday break. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader also received a bump this weekend, increasing 11 percent for $10.5 million — enough for fifth place.

On the indie front, The King’s Speech graced the top 10 with its presence for the first time, collecting $7.6 million from 700 theaters. The break-up drama Blue Valentine, which was initially rated NC-17 but has since won an appeal for the R rating, debuted to $180,000 from four locations — an impressive per-theater average of $45,000. And Another Year, the latest drama from acclaimed British director Mike Leigh, opened to $120,000 from six theaters.

Check back next weekend as Season of the Witch, the Medieval-set thriller starring Nicolas Cage, finally reaches theaters. (It was originally scheduled to be released last March). The music drama Country Strong, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw, will also expand nationwide.

1. Little Fockers — $26.3 mil
2. True Grit — $24.5 mil
3. TRON: Legacy — $18.3 mil
4. Yogi Bear — $13.0 mil
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — $10.5 mil
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Did you see any movies this past week?