Box Office Guru Wrapup: Unknown Opens Atop 4-Day Presidents' Day BO

Liam Neeson's latest European-set single-word-titled action thriller Unknown debuted at number one over the long four-day Presidents' Day frame while the hit 3D toon Gnomeo & Juliet gave the Oscar-nominated star a run for his money thanks to terrific staying power that allowed it to follow close behind in second. The sci-fi alien flick I Am Number Four debuted in third place while fellow newcomer Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son launched in fifth with each averaging roughly $7,000. Overall ticket sales fell behind the same holiday frames from the last two years. It was the first Presidents' Day weekend in five years with no films breaking $30M.

Debuting to an estimated $25.6M over the Friday-to-Monday holiday span, Neeson's Unknown took the top spot and averaged a solid $8,419 over four days from 3,043 sites. The PG-13 film about an American in Berlin whose identity has been taken after a car accident leaves him in a coma played to a mature adult crowd and performed much like his 2009 sleeper hit Taken which opened on top over Super Bowl weekend to $24.7M over three days ahead of a $145M run. With Oscar-nominated dramas being the only other films playing to the over-30 set in recent weeks, Unknown arrived as an exciting-looking alternative with a well-liked star. Reviews were mixed but on the same level as those for Taken.

Jumping up one spot to number two was the animated hit Gnomeo & Juliet which dipped to an estimated $24.8M over four days. With strong word-of-mouth, more kids available because of the school holiday, and no competition from any other kidpics, Gnomeo held up incredibly well pushing its 11-day total to $55.8M and now seems likely to break the $100M mark. Gnomeo actually beat Unknown on Monday with estimated one-day sales of $5.6M vs. $3.9M.

The sci-fi actioner I Am Number Four, Disney's first release of a DreamWorks production, opened in third place with an estimated $22.6M playing to teens and young adults. Averaging a decent $7,166 from 3,154 locations, the PG-13 adaptation of the popular novel featured no major stars and relied on fans of the book and on teens interested in a high school tale. Reviews were not too kind. It was expected by many to open at number one.

Dropping from first to fourth in its second weekend was the Adam Sandler-Jennifer Aniston comedy Just Go With It which grossed an estimated $21.7M. Sony's latest pic from the bankable funnyman upped its sum to $64.3M in ten days and has a good shot of hitting $100M. That would allow Sandler to claim nine-digit hits in nine of the last ten years.

Martin Lawrence's return to the fat suit brought him a fifth place debut for the Fox comedy sequel Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son which grossed an estimated $19M over four days. Averaging $6,735 from 2,821 locations, the PG-13 film fell well short of the three-day $25.7M opening of Big Momma's House from June 2000 as well as the $27.7M of its followup in January 2006. The new Momma, which features second-generation cross-dressing, was not screened for critics by their deadlines, but once reviews started appearing they were among the worst for any film in months.

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never fell 55% in its sophomore frame which was not too bad given that it is a 3D concert biopic meant to draw hysterical fans upfront. Paramount kept the publicity attacks going past the opening weekend allowing the 11-day total to climb to $51.4M. Produced for just $13M, the G-rated pic looks set to finish its run with $70M or so.

Oscar favorite The King's Speech crossed the $100M mark this weekend and enjoyed another remarkable hold dipping to an estimated $7.9M. That pushed the cume for The Weinstein Co. to a stellar $104.7M with $125M or more possible by the end of the run. Sony's college thriller The Roommate followed with an estimated $4.5M for a $33.1M total.

Audiences fled from Channing Tatum as his historical action epic The Eagle tumbled to an estimated $4.3M for a weak tally of $15.8M after 11 days for Focus. Natalie Portman rounded out the top ten with her comedy No Strings Attached which took in an estimated $3.7M for $66.6M to date. Her Oscar contender Black Swan broke the $100M barrier right before the start of the weekend.

The top ten films over four days grossed an estimated $150.7M which was down 29% from last year's Presidents' Day frame when Valentine's Day opened in the top spot with $63.1M over four days; and down 14% from 2009's holiday when Friday the 13th debuted at number one with $43.6M.

Author: Gitesh Pandya, Box Office Guru!

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