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Box Office Review: That Was It?
Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures
Despite being hyped by its evil corporate owner AEG, Michael Jackson's This Is It only earned a decent-but-hardly-great $21.3M at the box office this weekend. It was enough to win the weekend, though Paranormal Activity made a strong charge at second place ($16.5M | $84.7M). After that it was all hold-overs. The unusually robust Law Abiding Citizen continued to do well ($7.3M | $51.3M) as did the moderately funny Couples Retreat ($6M | $86.6M). The vile and stupid Saw VI rounded out the top 5 with $5.5M ($22.8M).
The second half of the top 10 was kicked off by the fantastic, fantastical Where the Wild Things Are ($5M | $61.8M). It was followed by the dull The Stepfather ($3.4M | $24.7M), the dull Astro Boy ($3M | $10.8M) and the, uh, dull Amelia ($3M | $8.3M). The well-intentioned failure Cirque du Freak rounded out the top 10 ($2.8M | $10.5M). In limited release, neither Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day ($6794 per theater) nor Gentlemen Broncos ($5000 per) were able to make much of a dent at the box office.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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