Namesake proved that Kal Penn could lead a drama better than he does most of his comedies. Over the weekend, the film pulled in nearly a quarter of a million dollars in just 6 theaters for an average of $41,425. That was well ahead of the overall box office leader, 300 and its still fantastic $22,844. The last film in the $10,000 club was a holdover, as Into Great Silence fell just 3.4% to $11,566 despite doubling its theater count to two.

Exterminating Angels and Beyond the Gates were neck-and-neck with $6,485 and $6,374 respectively. The Host was the highest-grossing limited release this past weekend with over $300,000; however, with a theater count of 71 that gives it an average of just $4,429. That's not a terrible start, but it is lower than expected and suggests a smaller theater count would have been the better way to go. Maxed Out was far from it with $20,000 in 6 theaters for an average of $3,337 while Believe In Me failed to generate any encouragement as it opened with an average of just $1,746. It is clear its theater count of 54 was just way too high.

This past week also saw milestones reached for a couple Per Theater Chart alumni:

• Miss Potter tried to expand, again, and while it wasn't a great success, it did push the film's running tally past $1 million.
• The Lives of Others did in fact make it to $3 million and the Oscar bounce appears to be accelerating.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Date posted: 2007-03-13