'Social Network' Pokes Competition, Let Me In Keeps Audiences Out

David Fincher's The Social Network, about the creation of Facebook and its creator Mark Zuckerberg rode a wave of strong reviews to the top spot over its opening weekend, with an estimated box office total of $23 million.  With a budget of approximately $50 million, The Social Network will likely have very little difficult making its way into the black.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole took second place, falling a soft 33% from its opening last weekend.  With $10.8 million added to its total, for a cumulative run of $30 million, the Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) directed film will likely not recover its $100 million production budget, although family-friendly films do tend to do well on home video, so that will remain to be seen.

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'Wall Street' Cashes In

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Oliver Stone's long-gestating sequel to his 80's hit about greed, took the top rung at the box office over its opening weekend.  The film brought in $19 million, a strong start considering the original brought in only $4 million in its opening weekend 23 years ago.  Adjusted for inflation, the original Wall Street would have had an opening worth approximately $8 million, on its way to an adjusted total of around $90 million ($44 million in 1987 dollars).  Reviews for the sequel have not been strong, however, so expect it to have a big drop in its second weekend.  Once home video and other ancillary revenues are in, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps should be profitable, but it may not recoup its $60 million budget in theaters.

Second place went to another new film, Warner Bros' Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.  The clumsily-titled, kid-friendly, owl picture brought in an estimated $16.3 million over its opening weekend.  With a 50% tomatometer rating and a $100 million budget, the Zack Snyder-directed film will likely have a hard time making it into the black.

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The Town Takes Crown

Four newcomers dominated the box office this weekend.

Ben Affleck's directorial debut, The Town, took first place at the weekend box office, bringing in an estimated $23.8 million.  With a modest $37 million production budget, the strong start coupled with strong word of mouth and critical reviews should help the film extend its strong debut over the coming weeks.

Another new film, Easy A starring Zombieland's Emma Stone, opened in second place, with an $18.2 million opening weekend.  With a small $8 million budget, the film is already profitable.

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