Sponge Bob soaks up the clams

Sponge Bob soaks up the mixed metaphorical dough

The weekend's box office championship was originally supposed to be a close battle between three pictures. It was not. Sponge Bob took in twice as much as expected, amassing $56 million, which is pretty great for a February open. When the numbers are finalized, it will be in the top five of all time for the month, possibly as high as #3.

American Sniper, in its fourth week in wide release, declined only 21% from last week, thus holding on to second place and raising its cumulative total to $282 million. It had the 8th-best fourth weekend in film history, and has established an outside chance to usurp The Passion of the Christ as the most successful R-Rated film in history.

Jupiter Ascending took third with $19M. This one could lose a boatload of money for Warner Bros. The production budget has been estimated at $176 million.

Seventh Son took fourth, but with a paltry $7M, despite starring everyone who ever lived. That showing placed it on the all-time list for the worst openings for a film in 2500 or more theaters, but far down that list. It did not approach the colossal failure levels of Mortdecai or Blackhat.