Open Season animated an estimated $23.3 million to lead weekend movie biz with the watery actioner The Guardian not far behind with $17.6 million. The combo registered sufficient muscle to provide a double-digit boost from 2005.

The session also featured an OK $8.1 million bow for the comic School for Scoundrels. Additionally limited bows for pedigree entries The Last King of Scotland and The Queen had impressive first forays.

The current frame shaped up as a grudge match between the top two ticket draws with heavy pumping on the part of both pictures. Season, the maiden entry for Sony’s animation unit, confronted a public that’s been barraged by cute critter movies the past summer and emerged with solid response, particularly in its 66 large format 3-D engagements that accounted for about $1.2 million of its box office.

Disney may have hoped The Guardian would dampen the response to Open Season but there was no palpable indication of major erosion. The muscular yarn relied on star power though it played older despite the presence of Ashton Kucher who also voiced a major character in the weekend’s top grosser.

Ticket sales were virtually identical to the prior weekend at slightly less than $100 million. Final numbers are likely to show no more than a 2% variance while comparisons with 2005 provided a 10% increase. Last year’s scoreboard had the second weekend of Flightplan grossing $14.8 million with newcomers Serenity and A History of Violence bowing respectively to $10.1 million and $8.1 million.

Based on a 1960 British comedy, School for Scoundrels registered passable results though some out-sized expectations had suggested more bountiful returns. The picture draped itself as a low-brow teen appeal outing and wasn’t able to sell itself in that fashion.

On the holdover front, the toll on last weekend’s wide release freshman crop was extreme with all entries experiencing greater than 50% hits. Nonetheless the potent opening of Jackass: Number Two will see that title out-grossing the original while the poor debut of All the King’s Men sees that film likely to wind up with less than a $10 million final gross.

The inspirational high school football yarn Facing the Giants grossed a middling $1.3 million in regional release. It’s received a small publicity boost from a film rating controversy. The Science of Sleep held well with a $1.2 million b.o. as it expanded from 18 to 225 theaters.

Two films propelled by Oscar acting hopes generated strong reviews and grosses. The Last King of Scotland with Forrest Whitaker as General Idi Amin opened Wednesday and netted $30,000 prior to the weekend. It added an additional $142,000 from four screens. Another historic figure, Elizabeth II, provided Helen Mirren with a showcase role in The Queen. It bowed on three Manhatten screens Saturday followed a New York Film Festival launch and is expected to return $132,000 in its first two days of release.

Also positive was the opening of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints that generated roughly $93,000 from eight engagements. Toronto fest curtain raiser The Journals of Knud Rasmussen struggled to $45,000 from 43 screens in Canada. The Inuit saga from the makers of The Fast Runner received tepid reviews and unfavorable comparison to the prior effort.

– by Leonard Klady

Top Grossing Limited Releases: To September 28, 2006

Domestic Market Share: To September 28, 2006

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