And the First Dud of the Holiday Movie Season Is…?

Not Megamind—3-D toon is on top again with estimated $30.1 mil. A certain A-list, all-star comedy isn't so lucky (or big).

To answer the headline: not Megamind.

The repeat champ shined in an otherwise lackluster weekend at the holiday box office, leading the way with an estmated $30.1 million, and upping its overall take to $90 million.  

So, what wasn't so, well, mega?

Morning Glory, the pedigreed TV news comedy with Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton, bowed in fifth place, with under $10 million. Since opening (or, rather, not opening) on Wednesday, the movie has grossed $12.2 million, a start that'll probably doom it to ending up on the wrong side of its modest $40 million budget. 

Skyline's debut wasn't much bigger than Morning Glory's, and yet it was a whole lot more successful. The no-star alien-invasion flick came away with $11.7 million, leaving the film already on the right side of its Hollywood-cheap $10 million budget.

Denzel Washington's Unstoppable did what Denzel Washington runaway-train movies, a la The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3, do: about $23 million. Considering the film's budget (reportedly as much as $100 million), its second-place start doesn't look all that more promising than Morning Glory's, but foreign ticket sales should pump things up. Unless, er, they don't. The bottom line: Hit or miss status is to be determined. 

Among the holdovers, James Franco's 127 Hours ($453,104 on 22 screens; $826,093 overall) had a fantastic second weekend, Robert Downey Jr.'s Due Date ($15.5 million; $59 million overall) had a nice one, and Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls ($6.8 million; $30.9 million overall) had a nosedive-y one.

Fall hit The Social Network ($1.7 million) was defriended from the Top 10 after six weekends. Overall, the $50 million Facebook movie has grossed more than $150 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo stats.

Overall, it was not a weekend of holiday cheer for Hollywood. Ticket sales were down 20 percent from last weekend, and about 12 percent from last year, when 2012 saved the day, so to speak. Help is on the way in the form of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, opening Friday.  

Here's a complete look at the weekend's top-grossing films, per Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Megamind, $30.1 million
2. Unstoppable, $23.5 million
3. Due Date, $15.5 million
4. Skyline, $11.7 million
5. Morning Glory, $9.6 million
6. For Colored Girls, $6.8 million
7. Red, $5.1 million
8. Paranormal Activity 2, $3.1 million
   
9. Saw 3D, $2.8 million
10. Jackass 3D, $2.3 million

(Originally published Nov. 14, 2010, at 11:01 a.m. PT)