Beverly Hills Chihuahua continued to bark up the right tree as it claimed the top weekend viewing choice with an estimated $17.4 million. However unless you were a high concept horror movie, the news was grim to disappointing for new movies. The bright light was Quarantine, which ranked second with $14.1 million.

The anticipated weekend champ — the star powered political thriller Body of Lies– came up short of expectations to slot third overall with $13 million. Even further off the mark was the inspirational sports saga The Express, which grossed $4.7 million, and the kid-lit adaptation of City of Emberwith a $3.1 million tally.

There was also a glut of debuting titles in limited and regional exposure, but few displayed real growing strength. The off-shore crime drama RocknRolla get off to a fast start with $143,000 from seven locales, and Mike Leigh’s disarmingly upbeat yarn Happy-Go-Lucky scored with $77,400 from four venues. A couple of reissues did reasonably well — Ashes of Time: Redux generating a $4,160 average from five exposures and 1950s classic Lola Montes attracting a comparable $4,400 per in three placements.

Bollywood entry Hello was very soft with barely a $1,000 average in 21 theaters and the Hispanic-targeted Talento de Barrio failed to make the connection with a $28,100 gross from 17 playdates. A handful of other independents, including Breakfast with Scot and the regionally opened family picBill: The Early Years, barely registered a commercial blip.

A couple of potent titles combined with sheer volume pushed viewing stats ahead of last year though it was roughly on par with the Columbus/Canadian Thanksgiving holiday frames that fell a week later on the calendar.

Body of Lies was expected to break the Iraq War jinx that’s dogged both overtly political fare as well as thriller fodder such as The Kingdom that it more closely resembles. The presence ofLeonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe waged war with a torrent of bad reviews and lost. Polling by MovieTickets.com asked roughly 2,000 potential patrons whether the film’s current events backdrop would impact their decision to see the film and 31% replied in the affirmative; that appears to have translated into an opening about one-third less than expected.

Quarantine continued the Screen Gems streak of mining low budget, exploitable horror themes for fast returns on fungible entertainments. The genre remains the most enduring commercial engine in American cinema going back to Universal’s Frankenstein/Dracula cycle back in the 1930s. The current entry probably won’t be quite as venerable.

Walden Media’s penchant for bringing uplifting children’s books to screen continued with City of Ember. It most certainly wasn’t Narnia with an opening closer to The Seeker that likely translates into a comparable number of sequels to the latter film.

The weekend head-scratcher was unquestionably The Express, based on the real-life saga of Ernie Davis, the first black winner of college football’s Heisman Trophy back in 1961. While expectations were modestly pegged at $8 million to $10 million, results were considerably off projections. The film had enthusiastic response at previews and A+ exit polls but after a soft opening day and a 22% Saturday bump, both partisan and unaffiliated studio execs (and this pundit) can’t come up with a solid scenario for the film’s lack of commercial traction.

The session also featured several expansions, with Rachel Getting Married adding 17 screens and remaining very potent. The national expansion of The Duchess had a good response but also suggests the period drama has pretty much hit its limit, while Appaloosa may have a few more hoof beats left to be trotted out. Fireproof is also keeping apace with its base but the likes of Miracle of St. Anna and Blindness are proving too fast and too furiously downbeat.

– Leonard Klady

Domestic Market Share – To October 12, 2008

Top Grossers Canada- To October 12, 2008

*Does not include 2007 box office

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