Divine Intervention

Evan Almighty took out Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer as expected but it's 1408 that's all the rage

Steve Carell And Morgan Freeman Win With Evan

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo:

Though it led the weekend, Evan Almighty floundered out of the gate with an estimated $32.1 million, while 1408 opened well in second...

Ian Mohr of Variety:

"Evan Almighty" floated the boat of enough moviegoers to take the No. 1 slot at the box office, but it’s an ocean or two behind its predecessor.

Universal’s contempo comedic take on the Noah’s Ark tale starring Steve Carell, washed ashore with $32.1 million, far short of the $68 million brought in by 2003’s predecessor "Bruce Almighty." Earlier pic starred Jim Carrey.

MGM and Weinstein Co. pic "1408" checked in as a surprise No. 2 as the Stephen King adaptation took $20.1 million, just edging out "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" in that franchise pic’s second frame.

After the summer got off to a torrid start last month, weekend was the fourth straight in which the domestic B.O. did not match the same frame a year ago: Box office for the top 10 combined was $122.6 million, according to Rentrak, vs. $124.7 million a year ago, when Adam Sandler’s "Click" led the field.

Meanwhile, "Evan Almighty" sailed to a per-location average of $8,910 from 3,604 theaters. Pic was Carell’s biggest starring vehicle opener yet, according to Nielsen EDI, surpassing the $21.4 million opening for "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" in 2005. That pic went on to hit about $109.4 million.

U brass said they were encouraged by exit polls for "Evan Almighty" and were hoping auds would discover the laffer in later frames.

In a summer of highly anticipated sequels, "Evan" is one of the first big-budget tentpoles to turn in lackluster numbers in its debut after most have bowed to record-breaking numbers or at least stayed close to their predecessors’ preems.

The PG-13 rated "1408," a paranormal thriller starring John Cusack, arrived in theaters to solid notices, but tracking as of Thursday had suggested the movie would hit in the teen millions and no further.

However, the pic attracted a large female audience -- comprising 53% of its ticket buyers -- over the frame. That helped it draw the biggest opening for a Stephen King lit adaptation to date.

Among other new openers, Paramount Vantage’s politically charged "A Mighty Heart," starring Angelina Jolie, made the No. 10 spot with $4 million off 1,355 locations in North America.

That translated intoonly $2,956 per theater for the pic by Michael Winterbottom after Paramount Vantage made an aggressive play at a time when specialty films have been delivering in limited platform release patterns...

The rest of the trade's weekend analysis can be found here

Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly:

Steve Carell's family comedy finished well below expectations, while thriller ''1408'' surprised at No. 2

Makes you wonder what the gross for Almighty would have been if Jim Carrey had agreed to return as the star...