King Of The Mall And At The Movies

Paul Blart: Mall Cop Segwayed himself past the competition to nab the top spot at the box office this weekend...



Pamela McClintock of Variety:

Sony's Kevin James laffer "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" debuted to an estimated $33.8 million from 3,144 runs in another boom session at the domestic office that saw unexpectedly strong results across the board.

The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend was up 31% over last year, and that was only for Friday through Sunday. Studios can look forward to more good business on Monday.

Holdover “Gran Torino,” from Warner Bros., declined a mere 25% to an estimated $22.2 million in its second weekend in wide release for a cume of $73.2 million. Pic, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, placed No. 2.

Lionsgate’s horror pic “My Bloody Valentine 3-D” narrowly beat Fox Searchlight’s biopic “Notorious,” distributed by big Fox, for No. 3.

“Valentine”--the widest 3-D release to date--grossed an estimated $21.9 million from 1,033 3-D locations and 1,501 conventional runs.

“Notorious,” about slain rap artist Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Biggie Smalls and Notorious B.I.G., grossed an estimated $21.5 million from 1,638 theaters.

Paramount family comedy “Hotel for Dogs,” from DreamWorks, grossed an estimated $17.7 million in its debut to place fifth for the three-day weekend.

On the specialty side, Golden Globe winners saw a nice bump. Searchlight’s “Slumdog Millionaire”--which won for best drama, best director and best screenplay--saw a 56% uptick, grossing an estimated $5.9 million from 582 theaters for a cume of $42.7 million in its 10th sesh.

Elsewhere on the top 10 chart, Fox holdover “Bride Wars” declined 44% in its second frame to an estimated $11.8 million from 3,228 runs for a cume of $37.6 million in its 10th day in release.

Universal/Rogue Picture’s horror title “The Unborn” dipped a respectable 50% in its second weekend to an estimated $9.8 million from 2,359 theaters for a cume of $33.1 million.

Ed Zwick’s drama “Defiance,” a Paramount Vantage release, placed No. 8 as it went wide. Film grossed an estimated $9.2 million from 1,789 runs for a cume of $9.5 million.

Christmas hit “Marley & Me,” from Fox, grossed an estimated $6.3 million from 2,952 runs for a cume of $132.7 million in its fourth sesh. ...

Joshua Rich of EW:

Kevin James' comedy is the king of the box office, far outpacing ''My Bloody Valentine 3D'' and ''Notorious'' ...

Despite the bad reviews as a Kevin James fan--I'm happy for him anyway.