Weekend Box Office: The Rite Has a Weak Opening at Box Office

Yet another slow January weekend at the box office — even for a religious thrilled. The Rite [review] took the top spot this weekend, making a weak debut of $15 million. Though the film was never a big budget project, when compared to The Last Exorcism [review] (another movie about religious characters and a devil-possessed woman) which opened at No. 2 in August of 2010 and to the amount of $20.3 million — one can be sure that studios were hoping for more. Another new movie this weekend was The Mechanic, the CBS production starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster – odd combo, odd time of year for a thriller, and it seems like some people were in the mood for it, but not many. The movie made the top three, following No Strings Attached [movie review].

Hopefully movie-lovers will return to the movies, once the awards season overdrive is over. Check out the weekend box office below…

1. The Rite | NEW | Warner Brothers | Weekend Gross $15,005,000| Average Per Theater $5,027 | Total Gross $15,005,000 | Film’s Budget – $37 | Week 1
2. No Strings Attached | Last Week #1 | Paramount | Weekend Gross $13,650,000 | Average Per Theater $4,517 | Total Gross $38,742,000 | Film’s Budget – $25 | Week 2
3. The Mechanic | NEW | CBS | Weekend Gross $11,500,000 | Average Per Theater $4,255 | Total Gross $11,500,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 1
4. The Green Hornet | Last Week #2 | Sony | Weekend Gross $11,500,000 | Average Per Theater $3,263 | Total Gross $78,800,000 | Film’s Budget – $120 | Week 3
5. The King’s Speech | Last Week #4 | Weinstein | Weekend Gross $11,102,000 | Average Per Theater $4,342 | Total Gross $72,217,000 | Film’s Budget – $15 | Week 10
6. True Grit | Last Week #5 | Paramount | Weekend Gross $7,600,000 | Average Per Theater $2,436 | Total Gross $148,388,000 | Film’s Budget – $38 | Week 6
7. The Dilemma | Last Week #3 | Universal | Weekend Gross $5,476,000 | Average Per Theater $1,888 | Total Gross $40,634,000 | Film’s Budget – $70 | Week 3
8. Black Swan | Last Week #6 | Fox Searchlight | Weekend Gross $5,100,000 | Average Per Theater $2,203 | Total Gross $90,704,000 | Film’s Budget – $13 | Week 9
9. The Fighter | Last Week #8 | Paramount | Weekend Gross $4,055,000 | Average Per Theater $2,119 | Total Gross $78,373,000 | Film’s Budget – $25 | Week 8
10. Yogi Bear | Last Week #9 | Warner Brothers | Weekend Gross $3,165,000 | Average Per Theater $1,484 | Total Gross $92,507,000 | Film’s Budget – $80 | Week 7

The King’s Speech, True Grit, Black Swan and The Fighter aren’t only getting award nods (all are Oscar nominees for Best Picture), but they’re also finally gaining some money at the box office. Paramount has both True Grit and The Fighter, they must be so proud.

What did you watch this weekend?