The Covenant Debuts In Top Box Office Spot

When the top film at the box office takes in a paltry $9 million, you know it’s a slow week.

But the Covenant, a tale of supernatural teens trying to destroy one another at an elite boarding school, did just that over the weekend, sparking concerns that the post-blockbuster season will be rife with disappointment.

“The summer season ended on a pretty high note, but the fall season is starting off a little slow,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

“I don’t think anyone expected this weekend to set the world on fire in terms of box office.”

Opening in 2,681 theatres with a screen average of $3,357, the film knocked off previous nu,mber one, Disney’s football drama “Invincible.” The Mark Wahlberg flick dropped to third place with $5.8 million.

In at second, attracting a much older audience than the top film was Hollywoodland, which debuted with $6 million thanks to a cast that features Ben Affleck, Diane Lane and Adrien Brody.

It opened in just 1,548 cinemas but posted a per-theatre average of $3,881, highest among the top 10 movies.

The only other debut to crack the top 10 was The Protector, which edged out the high-octane action of Crank for fourth place with $5 million.

In limited release, Yari Film Group’s “The Illusionist,” a drama set in 1900s Vienna that stars Edward Norton as a magician, continued its strong expansion taking in $4.6 million and sixth spot.

Little Miss Sunshine, starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell, dropped three notches to seventh with $4.4 million.

Meanwhile, moviegoers made history over the weekend, pushing the year’s biggest hit, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, past the $1 billion box office threshold, making it just the third film to do so behind “Titanic” and “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.”

Here’s the rest of the weekend’s top 10, with all figures estimated according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

1. “The Covenant,” $9 million.

2. “Hollywoodland,” $6 million.

3. “Invincible,” $5.8 million.

4. “The Protector,” $5 million.

5. “Crank,” $4.8 million.

6. “The Illusionist,” $4.6 million.

7. “Little Miss Sunshine,” $4.4 million.

8. “The Wicker Man,” $4.1 million

9. “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” $3 million.

10. “Barnyard: The Original Party Animals,” $2.6 million.

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