Big box office for Big Momma

2006 continues shaking off 2005's shaky box office trends with another beyond expectations weekend. 'Big Momma's House 2' arrived in theaters and scored the third biggest January opening ever, behind the re-release of 'Star Wars' as Special Editions and the critically acclaimed Ridley Scott movie 'Black Hawk Down'. 'Big Momma's' $28 million success comes right on the heels of last weekends big numbers for 'Underworld: Evolution', which now hold's the record for the fifth biggest January opening ever.

What's probably even more heartening to Hollywood executives is that a three films took in over $10 million dollars this weekend, including last week's number one 'Underworld: Evolution' and the new release 'Nanny McPhee'. 'McPhee's' debut came to the tune of more than $14 million, putting it well behind the critically panned 'Big Momma 2'. Even 'Annapolis' wasn't a total loss. The James Franco starring vehicle grossed $7.7 million and captured the weekend box office's number four spot.

'Brokeback Mountain' on the other hand seems to have reached its saturation point. The heavily favored Oscar contender had been climbing steadily as Focus features widened its release. This weekend it continued to play in more theaters, reaching out to 1,654 cinemas. But for the first time the film failed to climb the charts, dropping from fifth place to number six with a 6.3 million three-day take and a mediocre $3,841 per-screen-average. The movie could see another boost after Oscar nominations are announced this Tuesday, but this weekend audiences began to quit Ang Lee's lovesick cowboys.

In limited release, Steven Soderbergh's much touted cross-platform released movie 'Bubble' debuted in theaters, on television, and this Tuesday it'll hit DVDs. But the movie only opened in 32 theaters, and even then managed only very tepid audience interest. 'Bubble' grossed only $72,000, leaving it with a $2,250 per-screen-average. If the DVDs sell well it'll be proof that simultaneous DVD release could negatively impact American theaters. If the DVDs sell poorly it'll be proof that nobody cares about 'Bubble'.

On the flipside of the weekend's limited release schedule was the oddly named 'Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story'. The movie opened in only 3 theaters and scored the weekend's highest per-screen-average of $19,933. Also in limited were 'Imagine Me and You' and 'Manderlay', recording $6,600 and $7,450 per-screen respectively.

Here's a more detailed look at the early estimates for this weekend's top ten earners here in the United States:

Weekend Box Office Top Ten
January 20 - January 22, 2006

1. Big Momma's House 2 - $28,000,000 *
2. Nanny McPhee - $14,085,000 *
3. Underworld: Evolution - $11,100,000 ($44,303,000)
4. Annapolis - $7,708,000 *
5. Hoodwinked - $7,384,000 ($37,672,000)
6. Brokeback Mountain - $6,354,000 ($50,836,000)
7. Glory Road - $5,354,000 ($34,766,000)
8. Last Holiday - $4,800,000 ($32,628,000)
9. The Chronicles of Narnia - $4,411,000 ($277,773,000)
10. The Matadaor - $3,843,000 ($5,501,000)

* Denotes new release. Source:Box Office Mojo