Box Office Review: Double Blackjack!

Sony thrilled they didn't stick with financially riskier, historically accurate all-Asian cast | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Though the stumble by Leatherheads was the big weekend box office story, I think it's equally significant that little 21--a movie with relatively modest expectations--led the pack for the second week in a row. It's take of $15.1M ($46.5M) easily outpaced Leatherheads which debuted to a weak estimate of $13.4M and may ultimately finish third behind fellow newcomer Nim's Island ($13.3M) once the final numbers are released. Horton Hears a Who continued to chug along ($9.1M/$131M) while The Ruins opened to a less-than-expected $7.8M.

Hold-overs staked out the rest of the top 10: the dreadful Superhero Movie ($5.4M/$16.8M), the pedantic Meet the Browns ($3.5M/$37.7M), the disappointing Drillbit Taylor ($3.4M/$25.5M), the bad Shutter ($2.8M/$23.1M) and the worse 10,000 B.C. ($2.7M/$89.3M). In limited release, Shine a Light underperformed with a $5474 per theater average despite higher IMAX prices at many venues. My Blueberry Nights ($12,283 per) and The Flight of the Red Balloon ($18,600) were both much stronger while Meet Bill ($1091) was dead on arrival.