A's, Lions, Dolphins Dominate B.O.
"Moneyball" Can't Dislodge "Lion King"
The good news is that "Moneyball" opened with the second best weekend ever for a baseball movie.
The bad news is that the best weekend ever for a baseball movie belongs to "Benchwarmers," which went on to gross $59 miillion.
"Moneyball" also couldn't displace the re-issue of "The Lion King," and barely beat out "Dolphin Tale," which earned an A+ from audiences tracked by Cinemascore and looks poised for a healthy run.
Soderbergh's "Contagion" held up okay, and good for him. His movies can be more conceptually intriguing that dramatically compelling, and he took a risk by making a sneaky comparison in "Contagion" to the dangers of info that spreads peer to peer, like a virus. His little-seen "Girlfriend Experience" grows more prescient everyday on the subject of how the net-based info economy will turn everyone into a self-pimping individual contractor.
Opening this week -- Joseph Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogen in the cancer dramedy '50-50," by coincidence Gus Van Sant's cancer-themed "Restless," Anna Faris' "What's Your Number," "Tucker Versus Dale versus Evil," and "Machine Gun Preacher," based on the true story of a Johnstown man who went from meth dealer to missionary in Africa.
Looks like "Dream House," starring Dan Craig and directed by Jim Sheridan, will open without the benifit of publication-friendly advanced screening.
Faris gets the most screens (3,000).