14 DAY TRIAL // Making 500 million friends and some enemies paid off over the weekend at the box office, as the story of the founding of Facebook, “The Social Network,” came in at number 1, only $2 million short of 25.
Though this was yet another “dismal” weekend at the North American box office, there was little doubt as to which movie audiences chose to see, the Washington Post writes.
Telling the story of the founder and the founding of the incredibly popular website, “The Social Network” grossed $23 million, with more than half of the audience being over 25, in what the media calls an ironical twist.
Proof that this weekend was far from spectacular, in spite of the rather decent numbers, is the fact that, precisely one year ago, another Jesse Eisenberg release fared much better.
“A year ago on the same weekend, another Jesse Eisenberg release – ‘Zombieland’ – did a bit more business ($24.7 million), and the overall box office was up by nine percent compared to the first October weekend in 2010,” the aforementioned publication notes.
And “Zombieland,” one might as well add, as its name clearly implies, is a film about zombies, so it doesn’t pertain to a genre that can draw massive audiences.
The 3D animated story of courage “Legend of the Guardians” held tight to the second position of the top 10 films over the weekend, pulling in another $10.8 million.
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” the sequel to the ‘80s film of the same name, fell three positions from last weekend, making another $10.1 million.
Ben Affleck’s “The Town” continued its winning streak by refusing to leave the top 5, and securing the number 4 position with another $10 million in ticket sales, while “Easy A” landed at number 5 with $7 million.
The comedy “You Again” ranked in at number 6 (with $5.5 million), while the remaining positions were occupied as follows: “Case 39” ($5.35 million), “Let Me In” ($5.3 million), “Devil” ($3.6 million) and “Alpha and Omega” ($3 million).
As the Post puts it, the biggest letdown of the weekend was “Let Me In,” especially since it boasts an 86% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“This is a particularly depressing outcome for ‘Let Me In,’ a remake of ‘Let the Right One In’ that honors the original while also carving out some chilling, smartly conceived plot developments of its own,” the Washington Post notes.