Moviegoers feast on 'Zombieland,' 'Meatballs'

Source: Variety.com

"Sony knocked out its competition this weekend with a one-two punch from “Zombieland” with $25 million at 3,036 and 3D toon “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” which dropped to the second spot in its third frame with $16.7 million at 2,977 playdates.

Zomcom easily surpassed fellow Sony pic “Meatballs,” earning a weekend per screen average of $8,235 with its core aud coming from 58% under 25. Sony distrib chief Rory Bruer credited the pic’s comedic aspects as the driving force among its younger aud, especially stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg.

“Meatballs” met expectations, declining 33% after holding the frame’s top spot for two consecutive weeks. Pic outperformed fellow 3D toon, Disney’s “Toy Story” double bill, which came in third for the weekend with $12.5 million at 1,745.



Warner Bros.’ launch of Ricky Gervais starrer “The Invention of Lying” took in $7.4 million at 1,707, narrowly pinching out Disney’s “Surrogates” with $7.3 million in its soph sesh.

Fox Searchlight’s girl-power dramedy “Whip It” underperformed with $4.85 million at 1,720 engagements. Studio hopes word of mouth will propel the pic higher in next weekend’s frame.

Michael Moore’s docu “Capitalism: A Love Story” also saw a meek response with $4.85 million after expanding to 962, the highest initial expansion for Moore, followed by “Fahrenheit 9/11” at 868."