Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

As expected, Cloverfield demolished the box office this weekend, setting a record for a January opener with $41M in receipts. The final total was $15M+ more than was expected as early as a week ago, establishing Cloverfield as a potential monster of a hit once word-of-mouth starts to flow. Not to be outdone, 27 Dresses surprised to the high side in its debut, raking in a solid $22.4M and setting up Katherine Heigl as a real draw.

Hold-overs held the next four spots: The Bucket List ($15.1M/$42.7M), Juno ($10.2M/$85.3M), National Treasure: Book of Secrets ($81.M/$198M) and First Sunday ($7.8M/$28.4M). Mad Money laid an egg in its opening weekend, taking in a paltry $7.7M. After that it was more hold-overs: Alvin and the Chipmunks ($7M/$196.3M), I Am Legend ($5.1M/$247.6M) and Atonement ($4.7M/$31.8M).

None of the limited release crowd really set the world in fire this weekend. Cassandra's Dream did okay ($4682 per theater in 107 venues) while Day Zero ($6350) and Taxi to the Dark Side ($6225) were respectable enough in only two theaters apiece. Blonde and Blonder, however, did nothing ($1892).