Weekend tally: '30 Days Of Night' top of box office

Sony's Halloween scheduled "30 Days Of Night" opened with $16 million from 2,855 theaters and scored a nice hit for Sam Raimi's Ghost House productions. The Alasjkan fright fest film surpassed many big "Oscar" buzz type films.

Hollywood film pundit Nikki Finke notes that "this flop shows again that message movies aren't resonating with audiences this year."Number 2 spot went to Lionsgate's PG-13 holdover "Why Did I get Married" from Tyler Perry. It earned $12.2 million this weekend in 2,034 venues with a new total is $38.9 million.Number 3 spot went to Disney's family film, "The Game Plan" which took in $8.1 million from 3,301 dates, for a new total of $69.2 million.Number 4 spot went to Warner's well reviewed "Michael Clayton" starring George Clooney, making $6.8 million from 2,585 plays.Number 5 spot went to Fox Atomic's PG-13 comedy, "The Comebacks" which opened with $6 million from 2,812 runs.Number 6 spot went to Boston area crime drama, "Gone Baby Gone" - which got great reviews, it made $5.6 million this weekend from 1,713 theaters.Number 7 spot went to Sony's "We Own The Night" taking $5.5 million from 2,362 dates for a new total of $19.7 million.Number 8 spot went to the Disney re-release of Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas" in 3-D which squeezed out another $5.1 million from just 564 venues. In 69% of the reporting theaters it played in it was either the #1 or #2 grossing film.Number 9 spot was the disappointing New Line's mixed critically reviewed "Rendition" starring Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal opening to $4 million from 2,362 runs.Number 10 spot was DreamWorks / Paramount's disappointing "The Heartbreak Kid" making $3.9 million from 2,782 runs for a new total of $32.1 million starting its 3rd weekend in release.Another big disappointment was 15th place DreamWorks / Paramount's drug addiction drama "Things We Lost In The Fire" which didn't crack the top ten, despite starring Oscar-winners Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro. Freestyle's "Sarah Landon And The Paranormal Hour" made $500K from 1,115 dates. And Rocky Mountain's "The Ten Commandments" earned $475K from 830 plays.