Weekend Box Office: September 24-26

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Wall Street:  Money Never Sleeps -  $19 million

2.  Legend of the Guardians:  The Owls of Ga'Hoole - $16.3 million

3.  The Town - $16 million

4.  Easy A - $10.7 million

5.  You Again - $8.3 million

6.  Devil - $6.4 million

7.  Resident Evil: Afterlife - $4.9 million

8.  Alpha & Omega - $4.7 million

9.  Takers - $1.6 million

10.  Inception - $1.2 million

It was the return of Gordon Gekko vs. hero owls vs. Betty White this weekend, and while Gordon Gekko won, overall it turned out to be pretty weak few days at the box office.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to Oliver Stone's 1987 Oscar winner won the weekend, but fell just below expectations with $19 million.  It was, however, the highest opening weekend for an Oliver Stone film.

The Zack Snyder directed Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole also disappointed this weekend despite a massive marketing campaign.  Projected to open within the $20 million range, the animated family film opened in second place with just $16.3 million

Both films fared far better than Disney's You Again, which flopped in fifth place with just $8.3 million and which not even Betty White could save. 

Last weekend's champ, The Town, had a great second weekend, dropping only 33% from last week and nearly beating Legend of the Guardians for second place.  It was also a good weekend for Easy A, which had just a 39% drop and beat out You Again for fourth place.  Both films should face some heavy competition against The Social Network and Let Me In next weekend, but they should continue to play well in the weeks to come.

Surprisingly, Devil held up decently in its second weekend, earning another $6.4 million.  Resident Evil: Afterlife came in 7th with $4.9 million, and its $52 million domestic total now makes it the highest grossing film in the series.

Alpha and Omega is fading quickly from the box office in 8th place with just $4.7 million (the release of Legends of the Guardians this weekend certainly didn't help).  Takers is closing out its own box office run with an impressive $54 million domestic total.  And the last summer movie in the top ten, Inception, rounded out the top ten with $1.2 million.  The worldwide total for the Christopher Nolan thriller (and one of the summer's best films) now stands at $755 million.

Next weekend sees the release of David Fincher's The Social Network, and the vampire remake Let Me In, both of which are getting some impressive reviews so far.  Should be an interesting weekend.