‘The Hangover’ hangs on to top spot with $33.4M

 

“The Hangover” hung around the top spot in domestic rankings for the second straight weekend, ringing up an estimated $33.4 million in the first repeat box office win of the summer.

Disney/Pixar’s “Up” — which had looked like it pulled off the same feat the prior session until final data put it in second place — was a repeat silver-medalist, with $30.5 million in the latest weekend face-off between the family-oriented animated feature and the chart-topping R-rated comedy from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures.

“Hangover” now boasts a 10-day cumulative boxoffice of $105.4 million, following a skimpy 26% drop from its first Friday-Sunday tally. “Up” raised its cume to $187.2 million through three sessions.

Sony’s remake of the subway hijacking thriller “The Taking of Pelham 123″ opened with $25 million in third place, roughly in line with pre-release projections for the Denzel Washington-John Travolta starrer. Paramount’s Eddie Murphy comedy “Imagine That” debuted limply, with $5.7 million in sixth place.

Universal’s Will Ferrell-toplined “Land of the Lost” dropped a relatively modest 51% from its first weekend to find $9.2 million in fifth place and a $35 million cume.

On an industrywide basis, the $150 million weekend marked a big 17% drop from the same frame last year, according to Nielsen EDI.

Year-over-year declines in successive weekends have taken a toll on industry momentum. Seasonal boxoffice is now roughly flat with that from the same period of summer 2008, at $1.48 billion.

Year to date, 2009 is still pacing 6% ahead of the same frame last year, at $4.39 billion. That’s despite the current year featuring one less boxoffice weekend due to seasonal fluctuations in the boxoffice calendar.

In a limited bow, Vivendi unspooled the adventure pic “Call of the Wild 3-D” in 15 theaters and grossed $10,500. That represented a thin $700 per venue for the Christopher Lloyd starrer.

Sony Pictures Classics opened the scifi thriller “Moon” in eight New York and Los Angeles locations and fetched $145,218. That gave the Sam Rockwell starrer an impressive $18,152 per site ahead of planned expansions over coming frames.

And Francis Ford Coppola’s drama “Tetro” from American Zoetrope debuted with bicoastal solo engagements to gross an encouraging $15,243. “Tetro” cume hit $18,683 since its unspooling on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, SPC’s romantic comedy “Easy Virtue” added 44 theaters for a total 90 and grossed $322,997, or an acceptable $3,589 per venue, with a $1 million cume.

Focus Features expanded its Sam Mendes-helmed dramatic comedy “Away We Go” to 45 playdates from a previous four, registering $554,383, or a solid $12,320 per engagement, with a cume of $751,322.

And Regent/Here’s Japanese drama “Departures” added seven locations for a total 23 in grossing $104,098, or a sturdy $4,526 per venue, with a cume of $334,104.

Passing $100 million quicker than any previous laugher toting a restricted rating, “Hangover” is a solid candidate to gross $200 million-plus over its entire domestic run. Warners soon may firm up a summer 2011 release slot for a previously greenlighted sequel.

Warners exec VP Jeff Goldstein said the pic’s leggy soph session shows “Hangover” is the buzz comedy of the summer.

“It’s got extraordinary word-of-mouth and is just pure fun,” Goldstein enthused.

1. The Hangover $33,415,000 (Cumulative Gross $105,389,000)
2. Up $30,515,000 (Cumulative Gross $187,179,000)
3. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 $25,000,000 (Cumulative Gross $25,000,000)
4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $9,600,000 (Cumulative Gross $143,447,000)
5. Land of the Lost $9,153,000 (Cumulative Gross $34,980,000)
6. Imagine That $5,700,000 (Cumulative Gross $5,700,000)
7. Star Trek $5,600,000 (Cumulative Gross $232,028,000)
8. Terminator Salvation $4,695,000 (Cumulative Gross $113,831,000)
9. Angels & Demons $4,200,000 (Cumulative Gross $123,300,000)
10. Drag Me to Hell $3,864,000 (Cumulative Gross $35,146,000)
11. My Life in Ruins $1,700,000 (Cumulative Gross $6,361,000)
12. X-Men Origins: Wolverine $915,000 (Cumulative Gross $176,132,000)