Never Count Out Basterds—or Sandra Bullock

Update

Never Count Out Basterds—or Sandra Bullock

Mon., Sep. 7, 2009 10:30 AM PDT by Joal Ryan

All About Steve, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper

Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt enjoyed what most movie stars don't: a happy Labor Day.

During Hollywood's weakest long weekend of the year, Bullock managed a respectable $14 million Friday-Monday debut for the critically trashed All About Steve, while Pitt's Inglourious Basterds marched toward $100 million with a $15 million four-day take.

The Final Destination, last weekend's 3-D-boosted champ, was this weekend's champ, too, with $15.4 million, Exhibitor Relations reported.

More results, plus how Tron outplayed Gamer:

• All About Steve will finish third, not second as projected Sunday, per Exhibitor Relations. The romantic comedy flip-flopped with Inglourious Basterds, which moved up a spot.

• Third place or second place, All About Steve didn't bomb, despite a Tomatometer reading on Rotten Tomatoes of 5 percent. Yes, 5 percent. Just so you know, if you turn on a camera and film a wall and/or make The Dukes of Hazzard, you can rate a Tomatometer reading higher than 5 percent.

• Arguably even stranger but true, All About Steve made more money at each of its theaters than any movie in the Top 10.

• Maybe goodwill did it? All About Steve not only starred Bullock, hot off The Proposal, but Bradley Cooper, hot off The Hangover.

• To be sure, All About Steve isn't exactly a career highlight for Bullock. It's her lowest-grossing debut for a wide-release movie since 2002's Murder By Numbers.

• Only one Quentin Tarantino movie has ever blown past $100 million. At $95.2 million after three weekends, Inglourious Basterds looks to soon join Pulp Fiction.

• From Friday-Sunday, Gerard Butler's Gamer scored $9 million, Box Office Mojo said, which, given an average ticket price of $7.18, works out to about 1.2 million tickets sold. In 1982, Tron scored a $4.7 million Friday-Sunday debut, which, given a then average ticket price of $2.94, works out to about 1.6 million tickets sold. Game over.

• Even if you add in Monday's grosses, which are expected to bring Gamer up to $11.2 million, Tron still outsold its videogame descendant.

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will make $1 million through today, Paramount Pictures estimated, and will join Hollywood's exclusive $400 million or more club. Once Revenge of the Fallen's membership is confirmed, there will be only nine members.

• District 9, the little sci-fi movie that could, broke $100 million with a $9 million Friday-Monday.

• Of the weekend's new movies, Mike Judge's Extract was, as Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock put it, "the best-reviewed film that did the worst." It's expected to gross $5.5 million Friday-Monday.

• On the upside of being down, Extract is now projected to finish ninth, not 10th.

• The long and the short of it: G-Force fell out of the Top 10 after six weekends and a $114.6 million run through Sunday; Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock fell out of the Top 10 after one weekend and a $6 million run, also through Sunday.

• The summer box office estimates held. This now-concluded beach season will go down as the highest grossing—and one of the weirdest. While revenue was up (thanks, 3-D!), attendance was down. While August was surprisingly hot, thanks to G.I. Joe and District 9, Bock said, June and July were surprisingly cool.

• Perhaps nothing symbolized the summer's split personality better than Terminator Salvation. The movie grossed $371 million worldwide; its producers filed for bankruptcy.

Here's a look at the holiday weekend's top-grossing films based on Friday-Monday estimates as compiled by Exhibitor Relations: