TFD used a variety of ways to kill young adults and teens to earn more than $28 million. The key element in its succes was the picture’s 3D, with 3D showings around the country accounting for 70 % of the film’s gross.

In Sebring, Carmike has 3D capability.

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds fell less than 50% to earn more than $20 million and gave Tarantino his best-selling movie except for Pulp Fiction. That strong showing in Week 2 of release helped to give the Carmike a 1-2 punch locally.

However, the Fairmount won the Top Five, as Halloween II, District 9, and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra finished 3-4-5 respectively. Halloween II raked in more than $17 million, District 9 almost 11 million, and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra $8 million.

Have a great time at the movies!

Inglourious Basterds killed Nazis and crowned itself king of the box office for the weekend of August 21-23, 2009.

The darkly comical World War II flick Basterds used grit and gore, (Brad) Pitt and more to earn $38.1 million. It’s Tarantino’s biggest box office coup. We must wait to see whether it will hold, but it’s notable that Basterds drew a considerable number of older male viewers in addition to its younger ones.

Inglourious Basterds plays at the Regal Eagle Ridge and the Carmike.

Rounding out the Top Three were  District 9 and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra.

District 9 was last week’s champ, and the sci-fi social commentary fell a respectable 51% to earn more than $18 million in its second week of release. To date, District 9 has earned more than 72 million – far in excess of its $30 million production budget.

G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra reined in its slide in week Two, falling only 45% and earning $12.2 million. That puts it over $120 million since its release Aug. 7. G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra still has a lot of ground to make up to its $175 million budget.

District 9 and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra play in Sebring at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

No other films earned double digit millions, but the box office as a whole was up 20% from last year.

South African director Neil Blomkamp’s story of alien segregation and despair after their accidental arrival on earth dramatized South Africa’s tradition of apartheid. Blomkamp went further, twisting stories such as Black Like Me to create marvelous ironies and conflicts tin District 9 that evoked cries of sympathy from the audience at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

Despite the influences from history and drama, District 9 stands as one of the most creative science fiction films in years. Though it bears no resemblance to Star Trek, District 9 carries on that original series’s effort to flesh out our social conflicts within a science fiction setting.

With District 9, the Fairmount was able to execute a 1-2 punch on archrival Carmike, as G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, finished at No. 2 with 22.3 million. G.I. Joe did drop about 60%, and that’s steep, but typical of action films heavy on the teen demographic. In a manner similar to the latest Harry Potter, though, G.I. Joe’s opening was so strong that it is closing in on $100 million in earnings after only two weeks.

The Time Traveler’s Wife finished a strong third with $18.6 million in earnings. Rachel McAdams performs well and draws well, and Eric Bana completes the pairing, both developing an excellent chemistry with each other.

Overall, Box Office Mojo reported the North American box office rose 14% over last year.

Funny People sold $23.4 million in tickets its first weekend of release, better than Harry Potter and furry feature G-Force.

There’s a caveat, however, as Funny People lost audience from Friday to Saturday, an indicator that word of mouth is poor.

The latest Harry Potter installment held onto the No. 2 spot with $17.7 million. G-Force finished just behind it at $17 million.

The Ugly Truth, the Gerard Butler/Katherine Heigl starrer, copped fourth place with an even $13 million. No other film after the first four earned double digit millions at the box office.

A little furry feature called G-Force knocked Potter from his perch. The 3D G-Force amassed $31.7 million in ticket sales. Potter nosedived by 62% to finish with almost $29.5 million.

The Ugly Truth, with Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl, finished close behind at No. 3 with $27.6 million. Scary Orphan came in at $12.4 million and fourth place (see our movie review below).

The news gets worse for Potter: Its per theater average was less than both G-Force and The Ugly Truth.

The flip side is that despite that calamitous fall, Potter did so well in its opening days that it has grossed over $200 million domestically and more than $400 million overseas. Potter cost a monstrous $250 million to make.

What does it all mean? The Half Blood Prince is the last Potter film reportedly, so people went to see it, but it’s not very good.

It was a tough win for Sacha Baron Cohen, not as well defined as his first effort,  Borat, and one that won’t last in view of Wednesday’s impending opening of the latest Harry Potter sorcery and witchcraft movie (at Regal Eagle Ridge and Carmike). Right behind Bruno, perhaps with his coy consent,  was Ice Age 2, which grossed $27.6 million in what has to be seen as a disappointment.

The spoiler is Transformers 2, which grossed $24.2 million to finish at No. 3. Down only 42 %, Transformers 2 is king of the box office for 2009 – so far. It has wheelbarrowed away $339.2 million, and it’s not done. Kids want to see the cool action and effects rather than the loveable animation and dialog of Ice Age 2.

Amazingly, Public Enemies held strong, losing only 45.4 % in its second week. The bland, vacuous characterizations may have been overcome by the excellent gunfights and audio of this technically sound film, not to mention the presence of the highly regarded Johnny Depp.

The Proposal fell the least of the Top Five – only 17 %, and was the last film in the Top Ten to gross in double digit millions – $10.6 million to be exact. To date, The Proposal has made $113.9 million, not bad for a film that cost $40 million to make, not including the marketing expenses. Not bad at all. Much of The Proposal’s success is due to Ryan Reynolds, who was recently tabbed to play the lead in the film adaptation of the Green Hornet.

Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen tied Ice Age 2 with the same gross; however, Ice Age 2 had a slightly better per theater average: $10,368 to $10,038.

Public Enemies, the Johnny Depp starrer, finished at No. 3 with $26.2 million. Even a film with real acting could not triumph over the delight of children and the explosive, mind-numbing special effects of a teenie film.

It was, we believe, the first time this year that the Carmike naild the top three spots with their movie offerings.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DREAMWORKS

SEBRING, June 28, 2009 – Giant CGI robots that can change shape easily transformed into the No. 1 spot at the North American box office for the weekend of June 26-28, 2009.

Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen turned an action-packed if slimmed storyline into a $112 million gross.

Since its debut at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen has gobbled up $201.2 million in ticket sales. Already it is the No. 3 grossing film of 2009 behind Up and Star Trek.

No one else was remotely close, but for the record, The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, finished at No. 2 with $18.5 million.

The Proposal is a romantic comedy that stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. It plays at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

Up finished at No. 2 with a $30.8 million take.

Making its debut, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 garnered a respectable $23.4 million for thrid place but failed to make the splash its pre-release hype hoped for.

Night at the Musuem: Battle of the Smithsonian finished at No. 4 with $9.6 million. Land of the Lost claimed the No. 5 spot with a shade under $9 million.

Star Trek remains the top grossing film of the year to date. Audiences have spent $231.9 million to go see it.