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Box Office Review: Who Blarted?
Where's the nearest toilet?! I'm cramping!! | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment
Dismal "comedy" Paul Blart: Mall Cop tricked thousands of Americans into buying tickets as it easily topped the weekend box office chart ($33.8M). Last week's champ Gran Torino had another strong week ($22.2M/$73.2M) as it held off three new releases: the bloody My Bloody Valentine 3-D ($21.9M), the bloody Notorious ($21.5M) and the bloody Hotel for Dogs ($17.7M). The second half of the top 10 was led by the awful Bride Wars ($11.7M/$37.5M) which bested the amazing Odette Yustman's The Unborn ($9.8M/$33M).
Americans proved they still hate the Nazis by lifting Defiance to a reasonably good weekend in its first week of wide release ($9.2M/$9.5M). After that it was the durable Marley & Me ($6.3M/$132.7M) and the fantastic Slumdog Millionaire ($5.9M/$42.7M) which appeared to get a nice little goose from its recent Golden Globes win. The only new film in limited release this weekend was the widely panned Chandni Chowk to China which averaged a mediocre $5008 in 130 theaters and should soon vanish from view.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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