Weekend Box Office Results for October 17–19, 2008

Weekend Box Office Results for October 17–19, 2008

It was a typical weekend also ahead of the three-year rolling average by single digits.

Max Payne triumphed and there were no major surprises, but there was one pleasant minor surprise for Fox Searchlight. Their chick-flick did better than expected, beating out W for third and almost beating the Chihuahua for second. In fact, the numbers are so close that it may finish second when the final tallies are registered.

It was not a surprise that Sex Drive bombed. In fact, KJ called it on the nose. But just for the sake of accuracy, let the record show that it bombed to high heaven. Among films in 2400 or more theaters, it was the 7th worst weekend in history. That makes three ultra-bombs in just two weeks. There were two last week: City of Ember (25th worst of all time, 2000 or more theaters) and The Express (14th worst of all time, 2500 or more theaters). That makes seven nuclear explosions this year, including The Rocker, Meet Dave, College, and Deception. The Rocker was the worst of the year. In fact, The Rocker was the worst of any year, at least among films in 2500 or more theaters. By the way, Fox had four of the seven titles: The Rocker, Meet Dave, Deception, and City of Ember.