"Night" Life

Night At The Museum continues its reign as the top movie in the U.S....

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo kicks off the numbers analysis:

On 2007's first weekend, 'Night at the Museum' and 'The Pursuit of Happyness ' were the top two movies for the third time in a row, while 'Children of Men ' and ''Freedom Writers' mustered decent openings.

Read Gray's full report here

Ben Stiller Continues On The Right Track With "Museum"

Ian Mohr of Variety writes:

Fox's family adventure "Night at the Museum" and Sony's inspirational drama "The Pursuit of Happyness" continued to prove a potent one-two punch at the B.O. in the first frame of 2007.

Pics finished in the top two spots, respectively, for the third straight frame as "Museum" painted in another $24 million, and "Happyness" smiled with $13 million.

PG-rated "Museum," starring Ben Stiller, has taken in $164 million. Will Smith vehicle "Happyness" has grossed $124 million. Pic bowed at No. 1 a month ago.

In other action, Universal found a healthy expansion of its gritty dystopian sci-fier "Children of Men." After playing to some socko numbers in a limited run over the past couple weeks, Alfonso Cuaron pic took in $11.9 million off 1,209.

Per-engagement average was $8,515, the highest of any film in the top 10 next to that of Paramount and DreamWorks musical "Dreamgirls."

Cuaron's last English-language pic was 2004's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," which took in $249.5 million.

Among new wide openers, Paramount's PG-13 pic "Freedom Writers" -- starring Hilary Swank as a teacher who inspires a group of at-risk high schoolers -- wrote up $9.7 million, bowing in fourth. Movie, also starring Patrick Dempsey, scored a per-engagement average of $7,136 at 1,360. Studio will expand "Writers" by 700 next frame. Pic, from MTV Films, drew an aud that was 62% younger than 21. MTV's last movie for Par, prankster comedy "Jackass: Number Two," bowed to $29 million last year.

With "Museum" still voraciously bringing in family auds, Lionsgate's CG-animated "Happily N'Ever After" bowed in sixth, drawing $6.8 million off 2,381 for a per-playdate average of $2,856.

Indie distrib is rolling out the pic as part of a service deal.

New Line's "Code Name: The Cleaner," an action comedy starring Cedric the Entertainer, got whacked altogether. Pic bowed out of the top 10, with $4.6 million off 1,736 for a per-playdate average of $2,664.

Still playing 852 locations, "Dreamgirls" continued to post solid returns in advance of a wider expansion. The film had the highest per-playdate average in the top 10, at $10,358.

Pic has so far cumed nearly $55 million. It dipped just 37% from the previous frame.

Other notable holdovers included Par's G-rated "Charlotte's Web," which has kicked around the middle of the top 10 for the last month but has found solid biz. Update of the classic tale took in another $6.6 million over the most recent frame to lift its cume to nearly $67 million.

Universal political pic "The Good Shepherd," helmed by Robert De Niro, dipped 41% in its third frame to take in $6.5 million off 3,018. The film, starring Matt Damon, has shot down $48.4 million to date.

MGM's "Rocky Balboa" punched up an additional $6.26 million to remain a top 10 contender. As with "Shepherd," biz dropped 41%. Sylvester Stallone pic has taken in just under $61 million in three weekends.

Warner Bros. gridiron drama "We Are Marshall" finished 10th, rushing for $5.1 million off 2,052, brining cume to $35.4 million after three weeks in multiplexes.

Next weekend, "Museum" and "Happyness" could very well rule the charts once again, with little stiff competish entering the marketplace for the family crowd. Sony's "Stomp the Yard" should manage to divert some ticket sales.

Article Continues...

Here's a sample of Entertainment Weekly's weekend wrap-up from Joshua Rich:

Ben Stiller's comedy is close to surpassing the domestic take of ''Meet the Parents,'' and December holdovers mostly outperform 2007's first new releases