Box Office Review: Simpsons jumps back over shark

For what seems like the first time in years, The Simpsons actually exceeded expectations. The first movie of America's first animated family took in a whopp(er)ing 71.8 million dollars at the box office this weekend, demolishing even the most optimistic of estimates. Credit Fox's clever marketing campaign and the opportunity to finally see Bart's shrimpy doodle. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry finished a distant second, making 19 million bucks to raise its total to a dismally robust 71.6 million after two weeks. Why, America? Why?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix tacked on an additional 17 million dollars to raise its cume to 241.7 million. It's likely to end up being the 2nd highest grossing film in the Potter series behind only the Sorcerer's Stone. Hairspray continues to show good legs, racking up 15.5 million in receipts and placing second only to The Simpsons Movie in per-screen average. No Reservations didn't fare nearly so well, opening to a meager 11.7 million dollars. Whatever happened to the romantic comedy? Whither Meg Ryan?

The bottom half of the top 10 held few surprises. Transformers (11.5M, 284.5M), Ratatoille (7.2M, 179.6M) and Live Free or Die Hard (5.3M, 125.1M) continue to chug along, with the latter now the king of the Die Hard series in raw dollars. Lindsay Lohan's I Know Who Killed Me was dead on arrival, taking in only 3.4 million dollars. Lohan will probably now have to consider extended full-frontal nudity if she ever wants another hit. Who's Your Caddy brought up the rear in its first week with 2.9 million. How was it not a direct-to-DVD release?

Photo courtesy of idealterna via Flickr