While many obvious Oscar bait films have failed to connect with critics or moviegoers this fall, Juno came practically out of nowhere to become a top contender. Not only has it earned 92% positive reviews, it also earned an average of $59,124 over the weekend in 7 theaters. And, since Wednesday, amassed an impressive $81,887. Atonement also did well enough to give it a serious shot at picking up some hardware with almost $800,000 in 32 theaters for an average of $24,901. Last week's duo of debuts held well with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly earning an average of $19,200 in 3 theaters during its second weekend of release. Meanwhile, The Savages expanded from 4 to 9 theaters while earning an average of $15,828.

There were a large number of other new limited releases this week, with none coming all that close to the $10,000 mark. The best of the rest was Dirty Laundry with an average of $7,921, which was better than expectations. The Violin and The Walker finished with nearly identical averages of $5,647 and $5,508 respectively. Grace is Gone has shown once again that moviegoers just don't want to talk about Iraq as it earned just under $14,000 in 4 theaters over the weekend for an average of $3,470. The Amateurs' long-delayed released was not successful as it pulled in an average of $3,383 in three theaters, while Dus Kahaniyaan was close behind with an average of $3,213 in 55. Revolver wasn't able to revive Guy Ritchie's career as it was barely able to crack $40,000 in 18 theaters for an average of $2,323. The widest limited release of the week was Noelle, which flopped hard with $165,000 in just over 200 theaters for an anemic average of $815. But the worst new release of the week was Looking for Cheyenne with just $165 in one theater.

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

• The latest re-release of Blade Runner hit $1 million over the weekend, 10 weeks into this run and 25 years after it first opened.
• Margot at the Wedding also hit $1 million, but this is not enough exposure to give it a shot at winning many awards.
• As expected, I'm Not There cleared $2 million over the weekend, while $3 million is well within reach.
• Before the Devil Knows You're Dead topped $5 million over the weekend, but it will likely start shedding theaters now.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Date posted: 2007-12-12