The overall box office leader, Fast and Furious, was also the leader on the Per Theater Chart with an average of $20,500 during its opening weekend. Enlighten Up! returned to the chart in second place with $16,161 in second place. Valentino: The Last Emperor doubled its theater count, again, but remained strong with an average of $14,196 in four theaters. Strong buzz helped Gigantic earn $10,294 in its lone theater. Tulpan failed to reach $10,000 over the weekend with an opening of $8,620 in one theater; however, adding in Wednesday and Thursday and it made $10,357.

There were a few other new releases that did well at the box office, including The Song of the Sparrows did pull in $7,863 in one theater. Lifelines and Paris 36 were neck-and-neck with $6,793 and $6,384. Sugar was not quite as sweet with $60,000 in 11 theaters for a total of $5,467. The Escapist struggled with $3,075 and Bart Got a Room was just behind with $2,979. Further down the list was Alien Trespass with just $1,086; however, it was playing in 40 theaters, which is far too many for a limited release, and it does have a chance at becoming a bigger hit on the home market.

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

• The Class has topped $3 million also hit $2 million since last week, and it still has a slim shot at $4 million depending on how well it can hold onto theaters over the coming weeks.
• Sunshine Cleaning earned more than $1 million over the weekend and now has more than $4 million in total. However, its per theater average suggests it won't expand further.
• Slumdog Millionaire has now amassed $140 million in ticket sales, but it has still yet to catch Prince Caspian for 15th place. It should get there, but that's as far as it will climb.

Date posted: 2009-04-07