Mark Wahlberg's Max Payne Leads Box Office
October 17th-19th 2008 Weekend at the Box Office
Oct 20, 2008
On a weekend that saw 5 new films make their way to theaters, the new Mark Wahlberg vehicle Max Payne ended up taking the top spot. Shown in 3,376 theaters across the country, Max Payne was able to pull in $18 million on its opening weekend. Made on a budget of only $35 million, the film based on a the hit video game of the same name looks like it should make a nice profit during its theatrical run.
A new #1 at the box office also means that Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which had been #1 the past two weeks was knocked down to #2, despite still bringing in $11.2 million itself. Not only that, but The Dark Knight brought in another $425,000, pushing its box office total to $527,369,00 and further cementing its spot as the second highest grossing film in history.
The Other Films that Premiered
Opening up against Max Payne were a group of films that also had high hopes of the top spot, including The Secret Life of Bees from Fox Searchlight Films, W. Directed by Oliver Stone, the comedy Sex Drive, and the independent film What Just Happened.
"W" is a film about the life of George W. Bush, played by Josh Brolin in a role that is sure to earn him a lot of acting credit, and it helped to bring in a little more than $10 million for the weekend, giving it the #4 spot. Taking #3 was The Secret Life of Bees, constructed with an all-star cast that includes Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah, and tells the story of a girl that goes to live with a new Southern family after a rough childhood. "Bees" took in $11.05 million for the weekend.
Rounding out the rest of the films that premiered, Sex Drive earned about $3.5 million, while What Just Happened brought in $216,000 on only 36 screens.
A Run-down of the Top 15 Films for the Weekend
- Max Payne -- $18,000,000
- Beverly Hills Chihuahua -- $11,200,000
- The Secret Life of Bees -- $11,050,000
- W. -- $10,550,000
- Eagle Eye -- $7,343,000
- Body of Lies -- $6,880,000
- Quarantine -- $6,300,000
- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist -- $3,900,000
- Sex Drive -- $3,556,000
- Nights in Rodanthe -- $2,680,000
- Fireproof -- $2,675,000
- The Express -- $2,276,000
- The Duchess -- $2,209,000
- Appaloosa -- $1,985,000
- City of Ember -- $1,725,000
**Films Premiering on October 24th, 2008**
- High School Musical 3: Senior Year
- Pride and Glory
- Saw V
- Changeling
- Passengers
- Synecdoche, New York
- Fears of the Dark
- I've Loved You So Long
*Financial figures from Box Office Mojo
