Not only did G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra win the race to the top of the overall box office chart, it was also the only film to crack the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart. Its average of $13,654 was about 50% more than the second place film, Cold Souls, which opened with an average of $9,043 in 7 theaters.

There weren't many other new releases this weekend but none were outright bombs. Bliss opened with $7,039 in one theater. Beeswax and Paper Heart were neck-and-neck with averages of $5,844 and $5,776 respectively. The final limited release of the week was I Sell the Dead, which opened in one theater with $3,529.

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

• Moon topped $4 million since this time last week, while it has a slim chance of reaching $5 million.
• Whatever Works finally reached $5 million, but that's as far as it goes.
• (500) Days of Summer reached $10 million and it is about halfway to $15 million.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Date posted: 2009-08-11