Weekend Receipts: Raging Bullock

Years from now, when cultural historians look back at some of human civilization's milestones of persistence, expect to find The Blind Side's week-three usurping of New Moon's box-office title among those hallowed ranks. The inspiring (if insipid) Sandra Bullock film handily knocked off its ab-tacular competition on a weak frame for movies as a whole, proving once and for all that with a little big-hearted moralizing and a whole lot of Clairol Nice 'N Easy Natural Medium Champagne Blonde hair color, all things are possible. Find out just how possible after the jump.

1. The Blind Side

Gross: $20,440,000 (cume: $129,264,000)

Screens: 3,326 (PSA: $6,146)

Weeks: 3 (Change: -49.0%)

As safe bets go, it's hard to pass up a bestselling-book adaptation that packages football, Jesus and Sandra Bullock in one wholesome bundle. And so Warner Bros. reaps its reward, finally overtaking first place after last week's near miss. This was even counting the massive refunds issued in Florida, where thousands of disconsolate Gators fans sought uplift following their team's devastating loss to Alabama -- only to storm out en masse when Bullock goes atingle with desire during a recruiting visit from dashing Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.

2. The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Gross: $15,704,000 (cume: $255,639,000)

Screens: 4,124 (PSA: $3,808)

Weeks: 3 (Change: -63.4%)

Another precipitous drop nudged New Moon from its perch atop the box office, a bittersweet moment for theater owners sorry to see the phenomenon fall off but eager to get the lingering odor of estrogen and Kleenex with Aloe out of their auditoriums by the time Invictus rolls in this Friday.

3. Brothers

Gross: $9,700,000 (new)

Screens: 2,088 (PSA: $4,646)

Weeks: 1

A sparkling young cast wasn't enough to boost Lionsgate's post-traumatic-Afghanistan-love triangle-pout-a-thon past the $10 million threshold in its debut, prompting producer Ryan Kavanaugh -- he of the supposedly fail safe Relativity Media Profit-O-Matic Algorithm; -- to add a new "awards-season hubris inflation" column to his proprietary spreadsheet.

4. A Christmas Carol

Gross: $7,520,000 (cume: $115,006,000)

Screens: 2,546 (PSA: $2,954)

Weeks: 5 (Change: -52.3%)

Robert Zemeckis's mo-cap Dickens adaptation slumped into its second month of release with a decidedly underwhelming $7.5 million. The unhappy filmmaker will no doubt be on the phone with Disney execs first thing Monday, once again expressing his oft-stated bitterness at the studio's vetoing of his first, most inspired choice for Scrooge, Sandra Bullock.

5. Old Dogs

Gross: $6,901,000 (cume: $33,934,000)

Screens: 3,425 (PSA: $2,015)

Weeks: 2 (Change: -59.2%)

So I was out of the country for a few weeks, right? No sooner did I walk out of the airport, jet-lagged and hungry, than a news report in my taxi said this movie actually exists. Moreover, people have actually watched it. Willingly! It's like I forgot to declare my national pride at customs, and some mean, drug-sniffing German Shepherd forced its discovery and confiscation. Next thing you know someone's going to tell me Tiger Woods is concealing a bevy of mistresses or something.

Oh.