Green-Light District

The good guys won this week at the box office -- and by "good guys," I simply mean a modest, smart, well-made, exciting summer movie that critics and regular moviegoers alike all seem to agree on. Now was that really so hard, Hollywood? What are the chances of a repeat any time soon? Enh, on second thought, don't answer that. Let's just savor the numbers after the jump while we can.

1. District 9

Gross: $37,000,000 (new)

Screens: 3,049 (PSA: $12,135)

Weeks: 1

Audiences flocked to director Neill Blomkamp's shameless, factually inaccurate handling of the alien-apartheid crisis gripping Johannesburg, South Africa, thus galvanizing the film's conservative foes into a vengeful Plan B for later this year: a point-by-point rebuke of producer Peter Jackson's version of Heaven as depicted in The Lovely Bones. "The Afterlife hasn't been segregated like that for at least 15 years," the complaints will scream. "And young white women have always had chaperones just in case."

2. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Gross: $22,500,000 (cume: $98,753,000)

Screens: 4,007 (PSA: $5,615)

Weeks: 2 (Change: 58.9%)

The nearly 60% second-week drop was still less than many industry observers anticipated, with several pointing to Channing Tatum's racy, creative new Internet spots as a key factor in keeping the key mid-American demographic interested in Joe.

3. The Time Traveler's Wife

Gross: $19,205,000 (new)

Screens: 2,988 (PSA: $6,427)

Weeks: 1

To paraphrase one female reviewer's take on this film, Warner Bros. would like to thank America's ovaries for making The Time Traveler's Wife the sleeper hit of the weekend. The studio really couldn't have done it without them.

4. Julie & Julia

Gross: $12,400,000 (cume: $43,684,000)

Screens: 2,354 (PSA: $5,268)

Weeks: 2 (Change: 38.1%)

Meryl Streep fun fact: With the continued strong showing of Julie & Julia, her collective three decades of work will pass $1.5 billion in total domestic box-office gross by this time next week.

5. G-Force

Gross: $6,908,000 (cume: $99,049,000)

Screens: 3,065 (PSA: $2,254)

Weeks: 4 (Change: 30%)

Zach Galifianakis fun fact: With this week's continued strong showing of G-Force, his collective eight years of work just passed $500 million in total domestic box-office gross.

[Data: Box Office Mojo]