Based on Sunday’s estimates, courtesy of boxofficemojo.com:
1) Happy Feet: $17 million, $121 million to date (owner: Mark Pfeiffer, Reel Times Studios)
Mark’s soul is slowly burning inside his chest, like Spike’s in the final episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
2) Casino Royale: $15.1 million, $115.8 million to date (Steve Wamsley, TSSU Productions)
The last-minute replacement to the league is still kicking everyone’s tail.
3) Déjà Vu: $11 million, $44 million to date (owner: David Medsker Scary Clown Studios)
That scene of Denzel driving on the highway during two different periods in time was pretty sweet. So go see it, damn it. I’m getting crushed.
4) The Nativity Story: $8 million (Reel Times)
Had a pass to see this, saw “Tenacious D” instead. I regret nothing.
5) Deck the Halls: $6.6 million, $24.9 million to date (owner: Deb Medsker: Punch and Pie Pictures)
Fa la la la la, ka-ching ching ching.
6) The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause: $5 million, $73 million to date (owner: Jason Zingale, Seven Strangers Productions)
JZ’s first pick is holding on quite nicely.
7) Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan: $4.8 million, $116.3 million to date (owner: Deb Medsker, Punch and Pie Pictures)
If those punk college kids think their lives were ruined (they weren’t, by the way), at least they’re not getting divorced because of the movie.
8) Turistas: $3.5 million (Scary Clown Studios)
Hey, I thought you kids liked to see people get mutilated. What’s the matter, you went to see “Happy Feet” instead?
9) Stranger than Fiction: $3.4 million, $36.9 million to date (Scary Clown Studios)
Sigh.
10) Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj: $2.3 million (Will Harris, What’s All This Then?)
Will, you should be lucky it made that much money. Seriously.
11) Flushed Away: $2.7 million, $60 million to date (owner: Kristin Dreyer-Kramer, Nights and Weekends)
Why can’t Rita be sweet-ah to Kristin?
12) Bobby: $2 million, $9.2 million to date (TSSU Productions)
I saw a film today, oh, boy.
13) The Fountain: $1.6 million, $8 million to date (owner: Jason Zingale, Seven Strangers Productions)
This is one of those “prestige” films for JZ’s studio. It won’t make money, but it looks good on the mantel. Well, it’ll look good 20 years from now.
Current standings:
1) TSSU Productions: $224.6 million
2) Punch and Pie Pictures: $145.5 million
3) Reel Times Pictures: $129 million
4) Seven Strangers Productions: $88.6 million
5) Scary Clown Studios: $84.5 million
6) Nights and Weekends: $67.3 million
7) A Don’t Call Me Shirley Joint: $7.6 million
8) What’s All This, Then?: $3.1 million
Next week: Scary Clown rolls the dice on Mel “Sugar Tits” Gibson and his Mayan gorefest “Apocalypto,” Nights and Weekends shows off her “Blood Diamond” and takes a second shot at the kids market with “Unaccompanied Minors,” and Reel Times releases the Jack Black-starring “The Holiday” and secretly hopes everyone has already forgotten how badly “Tenacious D” tanked.