This weekend, aliens attempted to storm your local cineplex and America decided it likes its space invaders to shoot lasers at LA rather than just nab some moms. Battle: Los Angeles took the box office crown this weekend, while the Robert Zemeckis-produced Mars Needs Moms crash-landed at number five. And occupying that squishy middle ground was Red Riding Hood, which had a so-so debut at so-so number three. Your weekend receipts are here.
1. Battle: Los Angeles
Gross: $36,000,000 (new)
Screens: 3,417 (PSA: $10,536)
Weeks: 1
Technically speaking, it's more like Battle: Santa Monica, but who would show up for that?
2. Rango
Gross: $23,050,000 ($68,653,000)
Screens: 3,923 (PSA: $5,876)
Weeks: 2 (change: -39.5%)
Whenever I see a poster for Rango, all I can see is the shadowy spectre of the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, saying "C'mon, give us some more money; we know the last two were horrible, but we've changed baby! This time for sure! C'mon, get in the car and let's get some ice cream."
3. Red Riding Hood
Gross: $14,135,000 (new)
Screens: 3,030 (PSA: $4,665)
Weeks: 1
Oh, Amanda Seyfried. You're so likable but why do you keep appearing in such terrible movies? Nota bene to her management: put her in a screwball comedy posthaste. The more time she spends spitting our witty lines, the less time she has to moon over interchangeable dewy-eyed guys.
4. Adjustment Bureau
Gross: $11,459,000 ($38,451,000)
Screens: 2,847 (PSA: $4,025)
Weeks: 2 (change: -45.8%)
Are they admitting that they're angels yet? No? Then I'm not interested.
5. Mars Needs Moms
Gross: $6,800,000 (new)
Screens: 3,117 (PSA: $2,182)
Weeks: 1
What happened to Robert Zemeckis? How did the director of Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future and Cast Away become so infatuated with motion caption technology that he's essentially thrown his career away making creepy looking cartoons? Come back to real people, Bobbo; you've been lost in the uncanny valley for far too long.
[Numbers via Box Office Mojo]