True Grit was able to overtake Little Fockers for the top spot at the box office this weekend. The only new release, Season of the Witch, came in third with a decent result considering how poorly the film is being received.
The Coen Bros. western remake of True Grit came in #1 after two weeks of being the runner-up and in the process has crossed the $100 million mark. With $15 million this weekend it now sits at a total of $110 million. Budgeted at just $38 million the film becoming a mainstream hit bodes well for its chances come awards season.
Meanwhile Little Fockers fell 47% to $13.8 million. For as much heat as its taken from moviegoers and the disappointing take compared to the past two in the franchise it has now totaled $123 million and is nearing profitability. It should die out pretty quick though now which was not the case with Meet The Fockers which sustained over a long period and went on to break the record for the most earned by a live-action comedy.
Season of the Witch could end up being the worst reviewed movie of 2011 and we’re just one weekend of releases into the new year. Despite that it somehow scraped together $10.7 million but the poor word of mouth won’t allow it to do much going forward. Still, on a budget of $40 million, it appears to have managed avoiding being a complete flop which seemed like a distinct possibility just a few days ago.
Other holdovers charting were Tron: Legacy finishing in fourth and nearing $150 million total domestically, Black Swan as another financially successful Oscar contender crossing $60 million with its fifth place finish, and Country Strong which expanded wide from limited release to come in sixth with $7.3 million. The Fighter, The King’s Speech, Yogi Bear, and Tangled rounded out the top 10 for the January 7th-9th period.