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Non-Asian Jim Sturgess portrays Asian character | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures
Even though the book on which it was based was infinitely better than the resulting movie, the quasi-racist 21 still managed to dominate the weekend box office in its debut. It pulled in a healthy $23.7M, easily outdistancing the resilient Horton Hears a Who ($17.4M/$117.2M). The pathetic Superhero Movie underperformed at $9.5M in its first weekend, followed by Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns ($7.7M/$32.8M) and Drillbit Taylor ($5.8M/$20.2M).
The bottom half of the top 10 was headed by the non-scary Shutter ($5.3M/$19.1M) and the inept 10,000 B.C. ($4.8M/$84.9M). Newcomer Stop-Loss did the same middling business as its Iraq War-themed brethren ($4.5M). College Road Trip ($3.5M/$38.3M) and The Bank Job ($2.8M/$24.1M), however, continued to hold onto their audience while Run Fatboy Run fell flat ($2.3M). In limited release, Flawless ($5142 per theater), Priceless ($4875) and My Brother is an Only Child ($10,500) all performed okay.
