The Thrill of Victory ... And The Agony of Defeat

Hello! How are you? Did you go to the movies this weekend? Did you see The Hangover? Did you see Land of the Lost? Did you see My Life in Ruins? Tell us all about it -- we're interested! The weekend box office numbers are after the jump.

1. Up

Gross: $44,244,000

Screens: 3,818 (PSA: $11,588)

Weeks: 2 (Change: -35.0%)

In a back-alley nail-biter that saw half of Hollywood gathered in a circle, waving bills in the air and lustily cheering on a kazoo-voiced Doberman and roofies-addled pet tiger as they battled to the box office death, a final lunge for the jugular allowed Up to snuff Mike Tyson's cuddly companion and take the weekend for Pixar. Nicely done, dog.

2. The Hangover

Gross: $43,275,000 (new)

Screens: 3,269 (PSA: $13,328)

Weeks: 1

Let's not beat around the bush, however. The Hangover was the weekend's true champion: It's the second-highest R-rated comedy opening ever, after Sex and the City. Still high off the euphoric effects of a celebratory round of Röofie Bomb slammers, Warners brass can feel fully validated in their ballsy decision to order a sequel, for which director Todd Phillips received only a single, ten-word note: "More masturbating baby and Heather Graham areola, less taser humor."

3. Land Of The Lost

Gross: $19,524,000 (new)

Screens: 3,521 (PSA: $5,545)

Weeks: 1

Alas, it just wasn't meant to be, as Lost will forever go down in turkey infamy as The Little $100 Million Will Ferrell Stoner Fantasy That Couldn't. Poor Universal: Having taken some serious chances this summer on Drag Me to Hell and Lost -- two of the funniest and weirdest big studio movies we've seen in a while -- they've now seen their investment swirl down the flusher like a giant dinoturd. Midnight Movie history will have the final say.

4. Night Of The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian

Gross: $14,650,000 (cume: $127,341,000)

Screens: 3,807 (PSA: $3,848)

Weeks: 2 (Change: -39.8%)

Yayyyyy.

5. Star Trek

Gross: $8,400,000 (cume: $222,802,000)

Screens: 3,202 (PSA: $2,623)

Weeks: 5 (Change: -33.4%)

Most projections had Drag Me to Hell pulling fifth, and Terminator Salvation at sixth -- but leave it to the unstoppable Star Trek to warp ahead in the final stretch. Having exhausted my knowledge of Trek lore in this space, I'll now just link back to Obama and Spock shaking hands over their shared belief in the need for Klingonian homeland.

[Figures: Box Office Mojo]