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Moviegoers gorge on 'Meatball' comedy
2009-09-20
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Stomach-churning children's animated film "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" topped the North American box office at the weekend, according to initial industry figures released Sunday. The book-inspired film, which tells the tale of an island rained on by junk food, took 30 million dollars in its debut week, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations. Served up by Sony, the film's animated heroes licked Hollywood favorite Matt Damon, whose latest flick "The Informant" came in a distant second, netting 10.4 million dollars in its debut. Damon plays an agri-business whistle-blower in a film directed by Steven Soderbergh, maker of "Syriana," "Traffic" and "Goodnight, and Goodluck." At third was "Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself," directed, written and acted by Tyler Perry, who reprises his millions-earning "Madea" character, a rotund African-American matriarch. The pistol-packing grandma held the top spot last week and was Perry's second film this year to debut at number one. There was another new entry at four, "Love Happens," staring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart, a widower who is transformed into a self-help guru who falls for Aniston's character. "Jennifer's Body" features in the number five slot, although Jennifer in this instance is Megan Fox, who plays a possessed and killing obsessed cheerleader, a combination that was enough to earn 6.8 million in its opening week. Just behind was "9," which fell to sixth spot in its second week. The post-apocalyptic animated feature produced by Tim Burton tracks the adventures of an improbable gang of burlap-clad rag dolls who square off against machines in an attempt to save the world, or what is left of it. Slipping four spots to seventh was Quentin Tarantino's World War II film "Inglourious Basterds," about a group of Nazi-hunting Jewish commandos rampaging through occupied France. It features Brad Pitt and, in a much-lauded performance, Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who plays a maniacal Nazi officer. The film took 3.6 million in its fifth week, for a total of 109 million dollars. At eighth was romantic comedy "All About Steve," starring Sandra Bullock as a crossword puzzle compiler who becomes infatuated with a television cameraman. "Sorority Row" managed 2.4 million dollars at ninth spot, with the tale of sorority sisters who try to cover up a prank that took a gruesome turn, only to be stalked by a serial killer. Once box office number one, the horror sequel "The Final Destination" plunged to 10th, with 2.3 million dollars two weeks after its debut.
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