By Chris Kavan - 12/02/12 at 10:16 PM CT
As I so rightfully predicted (though it wouldn't take a mind reader to do so) the top three films at the box office were the same as last week (and the week before that). In fact, the top six movies were the same as last weekend. Yet despite the familiar faces at the top of the box office, the overall top 12 movies still ran an impressive 46% ahead of the same weekend last year.
1) THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, PART 2
The top film of the weekend took in $17.4 million (down 60%). Despite it's big drop, the film is still running ahead of previous Twilight films and its $254.6 million is now just $1 million behind New Moon and it could still pull ahead - it has one more soft week before The Hobbit hits (and will obliterate the competition).
2) SKYFALL
Skyfall was just behind in the second-place slot with $17 million. Down 52%, it raised its total to $246 million. With Bond still going strong, a finish around $290 million isn't out of the question. Skyfall helped its studio Sony top $1.7 billion for the year - a new record for the studio.
3) LINCOLN
Still hanging in third place, historical drama Lincoln was down 47% taking in $13.5 million. Lincoln now sits at $83.7 million - topping both of director Steven Spielberg's 2011 efforts The Adventures of Tin Tin ($77.6 million) and War Horse ($79.9 million). It will soon top the $100 million mark and, along with Argo, being a critical and audience success should mean it will also be a hit at the Oscars.
4) RISE OF THE GUARDIANS
The animated movie had the best audience retention rate of any film in the top 10, dropping just over 43% compared to last weekend. Yet since it opened relatively softy, it only brought in an additional $13.5 million for a $48.9 million total. It's looking less and less like it will be able to top the $100 million mark - and has to be seen as a bit of a disappointment for Dreamworks.
5) LIFE OF PI
Ang Lee's visually-stunning film was once again in fifth place with $12 million (off 46.6% compared to its opening weekend) and finished with $48.4 million in total. While it won't be able to top its $120 million domestically, a strong foreign box office should help its final numbers look a bit better.
Outside of the top five - Killing Them Softly may have been a hit with critics, but audiences were not enthusiastic - awarded it the dreaded "F" Cinemascore. It opened in 7th place with just $7 million (one of the worst wide-release openings for Brad Pitt) and should fall off the radar rather quickly.
The Collection, like most niche horror films, only attracted a small crowd. It managed to scrape into the top 10 with $3.41 million - not quite as much as The Collector's $3.57 million opening.
The Silver Linings Playbook had a slight expansion, but it still playing in less than 400 theaters. It sill manged just a 24% dip, and took in $3.3 million (11th place) and raised its total to $10.9 million.
Next week looks to offer little in the way of competition for the top films: Gerard Butler enters the romantic comedy market with Playing for Keeps while Dino Time looks to join the crowded animated market. I have a feeling we're in for a fourth straight weekend of things looking very familiar.
