December 29-31, 2006 1. Night at the Museum - $36.8 M (Total: $115.8 M) 2. The Pursuit of Happyness - $19.4 M (Total: $98.4 M) 3. Dreamgirls - $14.1 M (Total: $37.1 M) 4. Charlotte's Web - $11.7 M (Total: $52.5 M) 5. The Good Shepherd - $11.0 M (Total: $35.1 M) 6. Rocky Balboa - $10.6 M (Total: $47.9 M) 7. Eragon - $8.2 M (Total: $56.4 M) 8. We Are Marshall - $8.1 M (Total: $25.1 M) 9. Happy Feet - $7.7 M (Total: $175.9 M) 10. The Holiday - $6.72 M (Total: $50.0 M)

Night at the Museum hangs on to the top spot for the second straight weekend whild The Pursuit of Happyness continues to perform above expectations. However, the story of this week's chart is the $16,549 per screen average of Dreamgirls. The film took in more than $14 M in just three days, a terrific feat considering it shows in fewer than 9 theaters.

December 22-24, 2006 1. Night at the Museum - $30.4 M (Total: $30.4 M) 2. The Pursuit of Happyness - $15.0 M (Total: $53.3 M) 3. Rocky Balboa - $12.2 M (Total: $21.9 M) 4. The Good Shepherd - $9.9 M (Total: $9.9 M) 5. Charlotte's Web - $7.6 M (Total: $26.4 M) 6. Eragon - $7.0 M (Total: $37.5 M) 7. We Are Marshall - $6.1 M (Total: $7.2 M) 8. Happy Feet - $5.6 M (Total: $159.6 M) 9. The Holiday - $4.9 M (Total: $34.993 M) 10. The Nativity Story - $4.7 M (Total: $31.3 M)

Night at the Museum easily out-distanced its competition for the Christmas Eve weekend. These numbers do not include Christmas day where Dreamgirls made an impressive debut with $8.7 M making it second only to Museum for that day. In addition, though it only had one day on 852 screens in the 4-day weekend total, it managed to finish 7th ahead of the debuting We Are Marshall which had a significantly disappointing opening. Rocky Balboa did amazingly well 30 years after the original film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It came in 3rd place behind last week's number one The Pursuit of Happiness which held on strong. The weeks' other new film was the CIA drama The Good Shepherd. The film opened in fourth with a round $10 M figure. Next weekend, no new releases show up, but we'll see how well Dreamgirls does as it opens wider.

December 15-17, 2006 1. The Pursuit of Happyness - $26.5 M (Total: $26.5 M) 2. Eragon - $23.2 M (Total: $23.2 M) 3. Charlotte's Web - $11.5 M (Total: $11.5 M) 4. Happy Feet - $8.4 M (Total: $149.2 M) 5. The Holiday - $8.014 M (Total: $25.1 M) 6. Apocalypto - $8.008 M (Total: $28.2 M) 7. Blood Diamond - $6.5 M (Total: $18.6 M) 8. Casino Royale - $5.6 M (Total: $137.5 M) 9. The Nativity Story - $4.7 M (Total: $23.0 M) 10. Unaccompanied Minors - $3.5 M (Total: $10.1 M)

It was expected that Eragon would top Charlotte's Web at the box office. The surprise this week was The Pursuit of Happyness doing boffo box office to come in at the top of the heat rallying a slumping box office. It's the biggest weekend since the post-Thanksgiving non-holiday weekend. Apocalypto dropped more than 50% as the curiosity of audiences wore off and return business fell.

December 8-10, 2006 1. Apocalypto - $15.005 M (Total: $15.005 M) 2. Happy Feet - $12.904 M (Total: $137.932 M) 3. The Holiday - $12.778 M (Total: $12.778 M) 4. Casino Royale - $8.926 M (Total: $129.020 M) 5. Blood Diamond - $8.648 M (Total: $8.648 M) 6. Deja Vu - $6.019 M (Total: $52.995 M) 7. Unaccompanied Minors - $5.815 M (Total: $5.815 M) 8. The Nativity Story - $5.713 M (Total: $15.907 M) 9. Deck the Halls - $3.993 M (Total: $30.144 M) 10. The Santa Clause 3 - $3.254 M (Total: $77.184 M)

As expected, Apocalypto debuted atop the weekend box office chart. However, it's unimpressive total of $15 M is the lowest debut in two months when The Prestige debuted lower. The Holiday couldn't top Happy Feet, though it did come a very close third. Blood Diamond wasn't a smash with audiences proving that Leonardo DiCaprio can't carry a message movie to the general public.

December 1-3, 2006 1. Happy Feet - $17.545 M (Total: $121.501 M) 2. Casino Royale - $15.112 M (Total: $115.876 M) 3. Deja Vu - $10.947 M (Total: $44.007 M) 4. The Nativity Story - $7.849 M (Total: $7.849 M) 5. Deck the Halls - $6.676 M (Total: $25.017 M) 6. The Santa Clause 3 - $4.893 M (Total: $73.039 M) 7. Borat - $4.746 M (Total: $116.241 M) 8. Turistas - $3.582 M (Total: $3.582 M) 9. Stranger Than Fiction - $3.356 M (Total: $36.911 M) 10. National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj - $2.313 M (Total: $2.313 M)

For three weeks now, the top two films have remained as they were. That's a phenomenal showing considering Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was the last pic to hold the top spot itself for three weekends. The combintaion of Apocalypto, The Holiday and Blood Diamond next weekend, should see a change in the top spot. The Nativity Story proved to be less popular than expected thanks to a less aggressive ad campaign than The Passion of the Christ and not to mention the lack of controversy.

November 24-26, 2006 1. Happy Feet - $37.038 M (Total: $99.256 M) 2. Casino Royale - $30.785 M (Total: $94.053 M) 3. Deja Vu - $20.574 M (Total: $28.649 M) 4. Deck the Halls - $12.001 M (Total: $16.916 M) 5. Borat - $10.301 M (Total: $109.136 M) 6. The Santa Clause 3 - $9.929 M (Total: $67.073 M) 7. Flushed Away - $5.756 M (Total: $57.266 M) 8. Stranger Than Fiction - $5.726 M (Total: $32.504 M) 9. Bobby - $4.858 M (Total: $6.100 M) 10. The Fountain - $3.768 M (Total: $5.456 M)

Happy Feet appears to be winning the longevity game making roughly $7M more than Casino Royale at the Thanksgiving weekend box office. Both films held their top two positions against new debuts Deja Vu and Deck the Halls. These latter two films performed well under expectations and Deck the Halls was a considerable bomb with a mere $12M opening weekend. The Fountain looks like a non-starter with audiences despite its intriguing premise. The true test of the box office of Feet and Royale will be next weekend when they compete with church audiences for the top spot with the film The Nativity Story.

November 17-19, 2006 1. Happy Feet - $41.53 M (Total: $41.53 M) 2. Casino Royale - $40.83 M (Total: $40.83 M) 3. Borat - $14.60 M (Total: $90.76 M) 4. The Santa Clause 3 - $8.30 M (Total: $51.07 M) 5. Stranger Than Fiction - $6.60 M (Total: $22.91 M) 6. Flushed Away - $6.59 M (Total: $48.59 M) 7. Saw III - $2.92 M (Total: $74.97 M) 8. Babel - $2.90 M (Total: $12.02 M) 9. The Departed - $2.59 M (Total: $113.84 M) 10. After Dark's Horror Fest: 8 Films to Die For - $2.31 M (Total: $2.31 M)

Though the difference was $700 thousand, that's a drop in the bucket in a $82M opening for the top two films. Happy Feet finished slightly ahead of Casino Royale based on a wider screen release. The per theater averages favored Royale. Next week, it is highly likely these films will retain their positions at the box office with a boost from the Thanksgiving holiday.

November 10-12, 2006 1. Borat - $28.27 M (Total: $67.11 M) 2. The Santa Clause 3 - $16.93 M (Total: $41.09 M) 3. Flushed Away - $16.61 M (Total: $39.83 M) 4. Stranger Than Fiction - $13.41 M (Total: $13.41 M) 5. Saw III - $6.98 M (Total: $70.26 M) 6. Babel - $5.56 M (Total: $7.39 M) 7. The Departed - $5.16 M (Total: $109.70 M) 8. The Prestige - $4.78 M (Total: $46.19 M) 9. The Return - $4.48 M (Total: $4.48 M) 10. A Good Year - $3.72 M (Total: $3.72 M)

This weekend's box office holds only one major surprise: Stranger Than Fiction didn't top the box office and didn't even rank higher than fourth. Some might say Borat's second week showing was surprising but considering how popular it was the first week and how many theaters it was expanded into, it's not surprising at all. Santa Clause 3 and Flushed Away dipped only slightly in their second weeks.

November 3-5, 2006 1. Borat - $26.46 M (Total: $26.46 M) 2. The Santa Clause 3 - $19.50 M (Total: $19.50 M) 3. Flushed Away - $18.81 M (Total: $18.81 M) 4. Saw III - $14.81 M (Total: $59.38 M) 5. The Departed - $7.72 M (Total: $102.00 M) 6. The Prestige - $7.51 M (Total: $39.14 M) 7. Flags of Our Fathers - $4.42 M (Total: $26.55 M) 8. Man of the Year - $3.67 M (Total: $33.85 M) 9. Open Season - $2.97 M (Total: $81.25 M) 10. The Queen - $2.91 M (Total: $9.99 M)

This week's big surprise is that Borat performed incredibly well in less than one thousand theaters and pulled in more than $31,000 per theater. That's an astounding total and was enough to land the film in the top spot. The Santa Clause 3 under performed and came in at position 2 while Flushed Away did what was expected and debuted under Clause. The Departed finally crossed the $100 million mark positioning it as the real Best Picture nominee contender that the disappointing returns of Flags of Our Fathers slowed for that film.

October 27-29, 2006 1. Saw III - $33.61 M (Total: $33.61 M) 2. The Departed - $9.85 M (Total: $91.10 M) 3. The Prestige - $9.57 M (Total: $28.78 M) 4. Flags of Our Fathers - $6.35 M (Total: $19.92 M) 5. Open Season - $5.86 M (Total: $77.12 M) 6. Flicka - $4.73 M (Total: $13.89 M) 7. Man of the Year - $4.73 M (Total: $28.88 M) 8. The Grudge 2 - $3.26 M (Total: $35.98 M) 9. Marie Antoinette - $2.85 M (Total: $9.75 M) 10. Running with Scissors - $2.53 M (Total: $2.87 M)

Saw III set a milestone this weekend becoming the highest grossing Halloween weekened opener ever surmounting its predecessor Saw II. Virtually alone in its debut weekend, Saw took in more than $33 million at the box office. In second place for the third week in a row, The Departed showed amazing stamina and is set to become Martin Scrosese's best box office performance ever. If it remains on this pace, within two weeks, the film will pass the $100 million mark.

October 20-22, 2006 1. The Prestige - $14.80 M (Total: $14.80 M) 2. The Departed - $13.46 M (Total: $76.94 M) 3. Flags of Our Fathers - $10.25 M (Total: $10.25 M) 4. Open Season - $8.16 M (Total: $69.77 M) 5. Flicka - $7.70 M (Total: $7.70 M) 6. The Grudge 2 - $7.65 M (Total: $31.33 M) 7. Man of the Year - $6.94 M (Total: $22.42 M) 8. Marie Antoinette - $5.36 M (Total: $5.36 M) 9. The Marine - $3.79 M (Total: $12.62 M) 10. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - $3.78 M (Total: $35.89 M)

As Oscar season rolls around, box office numbers are important. The Departed continues a stellar run at the box office, which could be an indication of its popularity when it comes to nomination time. Debuting this week, below a fellow competitor, Flags of Our Fathers attempts to make a solid debut to make its contention apparent. $10.25 M isn't a bad debut but depending on its second week, we could see the first of the year's big contenders fail to catch on with the general public.

The Prestige debuted at number one with nearly $15 million. It's the lowest debut since mid-September, which doesn't bode well for the fall season but it is nonetheless impressive for a genre pic about stage magicians. If it continues to perform well, it could become a key contender in the tech categories at the Oscars. Marie Antoinnette's lackluster debut is proof the film doesn't have a broad demographic. It's previews turned off most period enthusiasts while many punk fans may have been turned off by the costumes.

October 13-15, 2006 1. The Grudge 2 - $20.83 M (Total: $20.83 M) 2. The Departed - $19.03 M (Total: $56.99 M) 3. Man of the Year - $12.30 M (Total: $12.30 M) 4. Open Season - $11.11 M (Total: $59.27 M) 5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - $7.49 M (Total: $30.19 M) 6. The Marine - $7.14 M (Total: $7.14 M) 7. The Guardian - $5.87 M (Total: $41.13 M) 8. Employee of the Month - $5.27 M (Total: $19.58 M) 9. One Night with the King - $4.11 M (Total: $4.11 M) 10. Jackass: Number Two - $3.33 M (Total: $68.38 M)

The surprise of the weak wasn't that The Grudge 2 may so little money to take the top spot but that Man of the Year couldn't surpass a surprisingly strong second weekend for The Departed. The week's other major debut, The Marine, was a supreme dud ranking no higher than the nearly 60% fall of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Next week, Clint Eastwood's war drama Flags of our Fathers will compete against Flicka, The Prestige and Marie Antoinette. Flags should come out on top with The Prestige a likely second-place finisher with Flicka competitive for third. Marie Antoinette should finish in the Top 10 but where isn't clear.

October 6-8, 2006 1. The Departed - $26.89 M (Total: $26.89 M) 2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - $18.51 M (Total: $18.51 M) 3. Open Season - $15.63 M (Total: $43.75 M) 4. Employee of the Month - $11.41 M (Total: $11.41 M) 5. The Guardian - $9.57 M (Total: $32.32 M) 6. Jackass: Number Two - $6.52 M (Total: $62.81 M) 7. School for Scoundrels - $3.43 M (Total: $13.99 M) 8. Jet Li's Fearless - $2.29 M (Total: $21.75 M) 9. Gridiron Gang - $2.24 M (Total: $36.56 M) 10. The Illusionist - $1.89 M (Total: $34.13 M)

As expected, The Departed debuted at the top spot of the box office becoming Martin Scorsese's first number one opening after a series of platform releases. Not only did it top the chart but it beat out its nearest competition by more than $8 M. Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel The Beginning came in second while the week's other debut Employee of the Month registered $11.41 M to come in fourth. Computer animated pic Open Season remained strong with a third place finish of $15.63 M. The rest of the top 10 was relatively unimpressive. Next week, the top spot will undoubtedly go to horror sequel The Grudge 2. However, Grudge may fail to surprass Robin Williams comedy Man of the Year while the other big debut will be The Marine which won't debut as high as it might have with less stiff competition for its anticipated audience.

September 29-October 1, 2006 1. Open Season - $23.62 M (Total: $23.62 M) 2. The Guardian - $18.01 M (Total: $18.01 M) 3. Jackass: Number Two - $14.61 M (Total: $52.07 M) 4. School for Scoundrels - $8.60 M (Total: $8.60 M) 5. Jet Li's Fearless - $4.98 M (Total: $18.07 M) 6. Gridiron Gang - $4.58 M (Total: $33.26 M) 7. The Illusionist - $2.74 M (Total: $31.38 M) 8. Flyboys - $2.35 M (Total: $9.95 M) 9. The Black Dahlia - $2.13 M (Total: $20.74 M) 10. Little Miss Sunshine - $1.99 M (Total: $53.13 M)

Open Season proved to be a draw for children at the box office. While off from last week's $29 M top spot debut, the top 3 films easily out performed last week's top four. The Guardian posted less than stellar numbers considering the hype and advertising campaign. Jackass 2 slid to 3rd while the week's other debut, School for Scoundrels, pulled in a slight $8.6 M to come in fourth. Little Miss Sunshine and The Illusionist continue to perform welll in the weak month of September. Next weekend, October pulls into full view with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel, Employee of the Month and The Departed all poised to post high Top 10 debuts likely knocking at least Flyboys, Black Dahlia and Sunshine out of the Top 10.

September 22-24, 2006 1. Jackass: Number Two - $29.00 M (Total: $29.00 M) 2. Jet Li's Fearless - $10.59 M (Total: $10.59 M) 3. Gridiron Gang - $9.46 M (Total: $26.96 M) 4. Flyboys - $6.00 M (Total: $6.00 M) 5. Everyone's Hero - $4.69 M (Total: $11.53 M) 6. The Black Dahlia - $4.45 M (Total: $17.27 M) 7. All the King's Men - $3.67 M (Total: $3.67 M) 8. The Illusionist - $3.33 M (Total: $27.59 M) 9. The Covenant - $3.18 M (Total: $20.18 M) 10. Little Miss Sunshine - $2.82 M (Total: $50.29 M)

Proving that no one can predict a hit, Jakass: Number Two outperformed expectations and came in with $29 M, an impressive amount. Jet Li's Fearless managed to finish second with just over $10 M. Flyboys finished 4th with the other new entry All the King's Men failing to ignite premiering at 7.

September 15-17, 2006 1. Gridiron Gang - $14.41 M (Total: $14.41 M) 2. The Black Dahlia - $10.01 M (Total: $10.01 M) 3. Everyone's Hero - $6.06 M (Total: $6.06 M) 4. The Covenant - $4.78 M (Total: $15.79 M) 5. The Last Kiss - $4.63 M (Total: $4.63 M) 6. Invincible - $4.11 M (Total: $51.12 M) 7. The Illusionist - $3.62 M (Total: $23.13 M) 8. Little Miss Sunshine - $3.32 M (Total: $46.36 M) 9. Hollywoodland - $2.72 M (Total: $10.52 M) 10. Crank - $2.68 M (Total: $24.39 M)

Gridiron Gang didn't have too disappointing a debut, even with box office receipts well off last year's abysmal performance. The Black Dahlia still managed to do better business than its kin Hollywoodland last week. However, animated Everyone's Hero should have done better, a poor year (and a heavy year) of animtaed pictures may have spelled its disaster The Illusionist and Little Miss Sunshine continued to perform box office miracles as they continued their slow climb in box office totals. Next week won't be much better as Jackass: Number Two, while with a built-in audience won't likely top Gridiron's total this week.

September 8-10, 2006 1. The Covenant - $8.85 M (Total: $8.85 M) 2. Hollywoodland - $5.93 M (Total: $5.93 M) 3. Invincible - $5.63 M (Total: $45.50 M) 4. The Protector - $5.03 M (Total: $5.03 M) 5. Crank - $4.90 M (Total: $19.96 M) 6. The Illusionist - $4.51 M (Total: $17.96 M) 7. Little Miss Sunshine - $4.27 M (Total: $41.49 M) 8. The Wicker Man - $4.06 M (Total: $17.43 M) 9. Talladega Nights - $3.01 M (Total: $142.19 M) 10. Barnyard - $2.71 M (Total: $67.01 M)

The Covenant had a terribly weak debut, the weakest in almost three years. Debuting with less than $9 M, the male magician film didn't turn many heads. Meanwhile, whodunnit Hollywoodland managed an equally unimpressive $5.93 M but pulled far enough ahead to finish second for the week.

September 1-3, 2006 1. Invincible - $12.15 M (Total: $34.79 M) 2. Crank - $10.46 M (Total: $10.46 M) 3. The Wicker Man - $9.61 M (Total: $9.61 M) 4. Little Miss Sunshine - $7.62 M (Total: $33.73 M) 5. The Illusionist - $6.31 M (Total: $10.37 M) 6. Talladega Nights - $6.10 M (Total: $136.77 M) 7. Barnyard - $4.89 M (Total: $62.08 M) 8. World Trade Center - $4.61 M (Total: $62.49 M) 9. Accepted - $4.59 M (Total: $28.11 M) 10. Step Up - $4.50 M (Total: $57.38 M)

Invincible remained such, holding onto the top spot against Transporter 3...I mean Crank and Nic Cage starrer The Wicker Man. Little Miss Sunshine continued to make boatloads of indie money while The Illusionist started doing the same thing. With no film in the top 10 dropping more than 29%, it was a good sign for next week's big debut of The Covenant. Pirates of the Caribbean remains out of the top 10 but fell only 4.9%, making it increasingly likely to pass Shrek 2 on the all-tiem Box Office chart. Snakes on a Plane continued its decent leaving the Top 10 in its 3rd week losing over 60% over last week's revenues.

August 25-27, 2006 1. Invincible - $17.03 M (Total: $17.03 M) 2. Talladega Nights - $8.12 M (Total: $127.81 M) 3. Little Miss Sunshine - $7.37 M (Total: $22.89 M) 4. Beerfest - $7.03 M (Total: $7.03 M) 5. World Trade Center - $6.47 M (Total: $55.64 M) 6. Accepted - $6.34 M (Total: $20.99 M) 7. Snakes on a Plane - $6.17 M (Total: $26.32 M) 8. Step Up - $6.16 M (Total: $50.39 M) 9. Idlewild - $5.75 M (Total: $5.75 M) 10. Barnyard - $5.65 M (Total: $54.93 M)

Invincible debuts in the top spot with more than twice its nearest competitor (over-performing Talladega Nights). Meanwhile, Little Miss Sunshine opened wider and took in enough to rank third, an impressive feat for a Sundance entry. Beerfest didn't appeal as broadly as expected and How to Eat Fried Worms, despite a relentless, untantalizing marketing campaign, failed to breach the top 10 settling for 11th place, just one ahead of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 which left the top 10 after 7 weeks there. Snakes on a Planelost more than half its audience making it one of the most disappointing faux-grass-roots campaigns in history.

August 18-20, 2006 1. Snakes on a Plane - $13.81 M (Total: $15.21 M) 2. Talladega Nights - $13.76 M (Total: $114.34 M) 3. World Trade Center - $10.90 M (Total: $45.11 M) 4. Step Up - $10.16 M (Total: $39.74 M) 5. Accepted - $10.02 M (Total: $10.02 M) 6. Barnyard - $7.58 M (Total: $46.09 M) 7. Little Miss Sunshine - $5.61 M (Total: $12.69 M) 8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $5.21 M (Total: $401.25 M) 9. Material Girls - $4.60 M (Total: $4.60 M) 10. Pulse - $3.52 M (Total: $14.69 M)

Snakes on a Plane barely captured the #1 spot form Talladega Nights. Despite being a perceived slam dunk for tops this weekend, Snakes failed to meet expectations and proved it's hiss was worse than its bite. The rest of the Top 10 featured the college comedy Accepted debut at number 5 and girl comedy Material Girls came in at a weak 9th. Meanwhile, the story of the week is the impressive expanded release of Little Miss Sunshine which made more than $8,000 per theater, more than doubling every individual per-theater gross of the entire Top 18.

August 11-13, 2006 1. Talladega Nights - $22.13 M (Total: $90.34 M) 2. Step Up - $20.66 M (Total: $20.66 M) 3. World Trade Center - $18.7 M (Total: $26.53 M) 4. Barnyard - $9.70 M (Total: $33.72 M) 5. Pulse - $8.20 M (Total: $8.20 M) 6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $7.24 M (Total: $392.4 M) 7. Miami Vice - $4.71 M (Total: $55.27 M) 8. The Descent - $4.62 M (Total: $17.54 M) 9. Zoom - $4.51 M (Total: $4.51 M) 10. Monster House - $3.29 M (Total: $63.66 M)

Talladega Nights maintained its grip on the #1 spot for the second, and likely final, week. World Trade Center failed to catch on with critics pointing out its complete lack of controversy, thus diminising curiosity-seekers. Meanwhile, Step Up made an impressive debut in the second spot. Meanwhile, horror film Pulse came in fifth and Sky High knock off Zoom failed to ignite coming in at #10.

August 4-6, 2006 1. Talladega Nights - $47.0 M (Total: $47.0 M) 2. Barnyard - $15.8 M (Total: $15.8 M) 3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $11.0 M (Total: $379.7 M) 4. Miami Vice - $10.2 M (Total: $46.3 M) 5. The Descent - $8.9 M (Total: $8.9 M) 6. John Tucker Must Die - $6.2 M (Total: $28.7 M) 7. Monster House - $6.1 M (Total: $57.0 M) 8. The Ant Bully - $3.9 M (Total: $18.2 M) 9. You, Me and Dupree - $3.64 M (Total: $66.8 M) 10. The Night Listener - $3.55 M (Total: $3.5 M)

Talladega Nights debuted strongly at number 1, no surprise at all. Barnyard however ended up in second place. Surprising with a spate of horrendous critical evaluations. However, the big news is the 60%+ drop of Miami Vice, which after toppling Pirates falls below it and may end up being the summer's biggest flop (no...wait...Lady in the Water wins that title having fallen out of the Top 10 in a 62% drop.

July 28-30, 2006 1. Miami Vice - $25.7 M (Total: $25.7 M) 2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $20.6 M (Total: $358.5 M) 3. John Tucker Must Die - $14.3 M (Total: $14.3 M) 4. Monster House - $11.7 M (Total: $44.0 M) 5. The Ant Bully - $8.4 M (Total: $8.4 M) 6. Lady in the Water - $7.1 M (Total: $32.2 M) 7. You, Me and Dupree - $7.1 M (Total: $59.1 M) 8. Little Man - $5.1 M (Total: $50.2 M) 9. The Devil Wears Prada - $4.7 M (Total: $106.6 M) 10. My Super Ex-Girlfriend - $4.1 M (Total: $16.8 M)

And the mighty have fallen. Miami Vice proved to be the only film in four weeks to topple Pirates 2 from the top spot but with a far less impressive debut than expected. The most surprising, howver, is The Ant Bully as the first animated film not to top a previously-released animated film in its debut this year.

July 21-23, 2006 1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $35.2 M (Total: $321.9 M) 2. Monster House - $22.2 M (Total: $22.2 M) 3. Lady in the Water - $18.0 M (Total: $18.0 M) 4. You, Me and Dupree - $12.8 M (Total: $45.3 M) 5. Little Man - $11.0 M (Total: $40.6 M) 6. Clerks II - $10.1 M (Total: $10.1 M) 7. My Super Ex-Girlfriend - $8.6 M (Total: $8.6 M) 8. Superman Returns - $7.4 M (Total: $178.3 M) 9. The Devil Wears Prada - $7.4 M (Total: $97.5 M) 10. Cars - $4.9 M (Total: $229.5 M)

The juggernaut persists. Unfortunately, there's no stopping Pirates now. Althought Miami Vice will debut well, it's uncertain whether it will be able to lift past Pirates. Though its third weekend was below two other films that passed the $400 million mark, its intial weekend will likely send it sailing past those two monoliths (Spider-Man and Shrek 2).

July 14-16, 2006 1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $62.3 M (Total: $258.4 M) 2. Little Man - $21.6 M (Total: $21.6 M) 3. You, Me and Dupree - $21.5 M (Total: $21.5 M) 4. Superman Returns - $12.3 M (Total: $164.3 M) 5. The Devil Wears Prada - $10.4 M (Total: $83.5 M) 6. Cars - $7.8 M (Total: $220.0 M) 7. Click - $7.3 M (Total: $119.96 M) 8. The Lake House - $1.7 M (Total: $48.996 M) 9. Nacho Libre - $1.6 M (Total: $77.2 M) 10. A Scanner Darkly - $1.3 M (Total: $1.9 M)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest stayed at the top of the chart and fell slightly less than I was expecting dropping only 54%. Next week, the competition finally arrives with Lady in the Water, Monster House, Clerks II and My Super Ex-Girlfriend all poised to chip away at the box office leader.

July 7-9, 2006 1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $135.6 M (Total: $135.6 M) 2. Superman Returns - $21.8 M (Total: $141.6 M) 3. The Devil Wears Prada - $15.0 M (Total: $63.1 M) 4. Click - $11.9 M (Total: $105.8 M) 5. Cars - $10.7 M (Total: $205.9 M) 6. Nacho Libre - $3.3 M (Total: $73.8 M) 7. The Lake House - $2.9 M (Total: $45.6 M) 8. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - $2.5 M (Total: $57.4 M) 9. Waist Deep - $1.9 M (Total: $19.2 M) 10. The Break-Up - $1.6 M (Total: $114.3 M)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest debuted phenomenally well against no new competition and older films that weren't drawing the audiences they should have. It'll top again next week no problem but the fall will likely be around 56% or greater.

June 30-July 2, 2006 1. Superman Returns - $52.5 M (Total: $84.6 M) 2. The Devil Wears Prada - $27.5 M (Total: $27.5 M) 3. Click - $19.9 M (Total: $78.4 M) 4. Cars - $14.5 M (Total: $182.6 M) 5. Nacho Libre - $6.6 M (Total: $65.4 M) 6. The Lake House - $4.8 M (Total: $39.0 M) 7. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - $4.5 M (Total: $51.7 M) 8. Waist Deep - $3.4 M (Total: $15.3 M) 9. The Break-Up - $2.9 M (Total: $110.2 M) 10. The Da Vinci Code - $2.4 M (Total: $209.9 M)

Superman Returns was on top as expected but with a significantly lower-than-expected return. Meanwhile, The Devil Wears Prada managed a much larger debut than was predicted but as counter-programming, it worked.

June 23-25, 2006 1. Click - $40.0 M (Total: $40.0 M) 2. Cars - $23.3 M (Total: $156.7 M) 3. Nacho Libre - $12.7 M (Total: $53.2 M) 4. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - $9.8 M (Total: $43.1 M) 5. Waist Deep - $9.4 M (Total: $9.4 M) 6. The Lake House - $8.8 M (Total: $29.8 M) 7. The Break-Up - $5.2 M (Total: $104.2 M) 8. Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties - $5.2 M (Total: $16.5 M) 9. X-Men: The Last Stand - $4.8 M (Total: $224.5 M) 10. The Da Vinci Code - $4.1 M (Total: $205.6 M)

It's not surprising that Click debuted at number one. However, with the speed with which Nacho Libre plummeted, Click should face the same fate next week when Superman debuts.

June 16-18, 2006 1. Cars - $33.7 M (Total: $117.1 M) 2. Nacho Libre - $28.3 M (Total: $28.3 M) 3. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - $23.97 M (Total: $23.97 M) 4. The Lake House - $13.6 M (Total: $13.6 M) 5. The Break-Up - $9.8 M (Total: $92.3 M) 6. X-Men: The Last Stand - $7.8 M (Total: $216.2 M) 7. Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties - $7.3 M (Total: $7.3 M) 8. The Omen - $5.6 M (Total: $47.2 M) 9. The Da Vinci Code - $5.3 M (Total: $198.8 M) 10. Over the Hedge - $4.3 M (Total: $139.0 M)

Cars retains the lead but faced stiff competition from surprisingly hostile Nacho Libre and The Fast and the Furious 3. The Lake House debuted far behind in third while Garfield 2 pinched a pathetic 7th.

June 9-11, 2006 1. Cars - $60.1 M (Total: $60.1 M) 2. The Break-Up - $20.3 M (Total: $73.9 M) 3. X-Men: The Last Stand - $16.1 M (Total: $202.2 M) 4. The Omen - $16.0 M (Total: $36.3 M) 5. The Da Vinci Code - $10.4 M (Total: $189.2 M) 6. Over the Hedge - $10.2 M (Total: $130.2 M) 7. A Prairie Home Companion - $4.6 M (Total: $4.6 M) 8. Mission: Impossible III - $3.0 M (Total: $127.5 M) 9. RV - $1.9 M (Total: $64.9 M) 10. Poseidon - $1.8 M (Total: $54.9 M)

Cars takes the top spot from The Break-Up. The Omen debuts weakly for a horror film and Prairie Home Companion impresses with a high per-screen average.

June 2-4, 2006 1. The Break-Up - $39.2 M (Total: $39.2 M) 2. X-Men: The Last Stand - $34.0 M (Total: $175.3 M) 3. Over the Hedge - $20.6 M (Total: $112.4 M) 4. The Da Vinci Code - $18.6 M (Total: $171.9 M) 5. Mission: Impossible III - $4.7 M (Total: $122.7 M) 6. Poseidon - $3.5 M (Total: $51.8 M) 7. RV - $3.2 M (Total: $61.7 M) 8. See No Evil - $2.0 M (Total: $12.4 M) 9. An Inconvenient Truth - $1.4 M (Total: $1.9 M) 10. Just My Luck - $0.9 M (Total: $15.6 M)

The Break-Up wrenches the top spot from the X-Men.

May 26-29, 2006 1. X-Men: The Last Stand - $122.9 M (Total: $122.9 M) 2. The Da Vinci Code - $42.4 M (Total: $144.9 M) 3. Over the Hedge - $35.3 M (Total: $84.4 M) 4. Mission: Impossible III - $8.9 M (Total: $116.2 M) 5. Poseidon - $7.1 M (Total: $46.7 M) 6. RV - $5.4 M (Total: $57.3 M) 7. See No Evil - $3.4 M (Total: $9.4 M) 8. Just My Luck - $2.5 M (Total: $14.1 M) 9. United 93 - $1.1 M (Total: $29.9 M) 10. Ice Age: The Meltdown - $1.0 M (Total: $190.7 M)

X-Men: The Last Stand destroys the competition and sets a Memorial Day weekend record.

May 19-21, 2006 1. The Da Vinci Code - $77.1 M (Total: $77.1 M) 2. Over the Hedge - $38.5 M (Total: $38.5 M) 3. Mission: Impossible III - $11.3 M (Total: $103.5 M) 4. Poseidon - $9.2 M (Total: $36.8 M) 5. RV - $5.0 M (Total: $50.3 M) 6. See No Evil - $4.6 M (Total: $4.6 M) 7. Just My Luck - $3.4 M (Total: $10.5 M) 8. An American Haunting - $1.5 M (Total: $13.4 M) 9. United 93 - $1.4 M (Total: $28.3 M) 10. Akeelah and the Bee - $1.0 M (Total: $15.7 M)

The Da Vinci Code takes top spot this week, supplanting last week's number 1, Mission: Impossible III

May 12-14, 2006 1. Mission: Impossible III - $25.0 M (Total: $85.1 M) 2. Poseidon - $22.2 M (Total: $22.2 M) 3. RV - $9.95 M (Total: $43.3 M) 4. Just My Luck - $5.7 M (Total: $5.7 M) 5. An American Haunting - $3.6 M (Total: $10.8 M) 6. United 93 - $3.5 M (Total: $25.6 M) 7. Stick It - $3.2 M (Total: $22.1 M) 8. Ice Age: The Meltdown - $3.2 M (Total: $187.6 M) 9. Akeelah and the Bee - $2.4 M (Total: $14.0 M) 10. Hoot - $2.3 M (Total: $6.4 M)

Poseidon has an unimpressive debut and, instead of surpassing last week's number 1 Mission: Impossible III as it was expected to, it comes in a close second.