OK, so what should we call them: B.S.-ers? Side-dishes? Bli-hards?
Devotees of The Blind Side are deserving of their own Twi-hard-esque nickname after the Sandra Bullock football drama gave New Moon a run for the holiday box office, and, in rare fashion, grossed more money in its second weekend than its first.
Blind Side's Friday-Sunday take was estimated at $40.1 million. New Moon held off Team Bullock and stayed No. 1 with $42.5 million.
The race between the two movies was tight for one statistical reason: The Blind Side surged, with business up nearly 20 percent; New Moon cooled, with ticket sales plunging 70 percent.
What happened to New Moon? What's up with The Blind Side? And is the world ready for a grown-up Zac Efron? Let's find out:
• Plain and simple, New Moon fanaticism is not an unlimited resource. Twi-hards, who made the movie far bigger than expected last weekend, were tapped out this weekend. Relatively speaking.
• Of the five movies to hit $200 million fastest—of which New Moon, at $230.7 million and counting, is one—the Twilight sequel by far suffered the steepest second-weekend fall. The 70 percent drop was more Mallrats than Dark Knight or even Twilight (down 62 percent).
• It's worth noting that of the five movies to hit $200 millon fastest, New Moon is the only one that didn't cost at least $200 million. Or $150 million. Or $100 million. Or even $75 million.
• After two weekends, the $50 million wonder has made $473.7 million worldwide, its studio reported, so no, ultimately not any sleep being lost in New Moon Land over Sandra Bullock.
• Residents of New Moon Land, however, would be excused for hearing Sandra Bullock's footsteps. The star's movie nearly matched its prized property at every turn over the long Thanksgiving holiday. From Wednesday to Sunday, New Moon grossed $66 million; The Blind Side was right there with $64.2 million.
• Not only did The Blind Side get bigger in its second weekend, its audience got younger, too. "The movie has taken on a life of its own," Warner Bros. exec Dan Fellman said today.
• After two weekends, The Blind Side, produced for only $29 million, has grossed an estimated $100.3 million domestically.
• The slicked-down Zac Efron played well on the art-house circuit, with Me and Orson Welles grossing $64,780 at four theaters. Penélope Cruz's Broken Embraces was even bigger ($117,005 at two theaters).
• Debuting at two theaters, Disney's old-school animated The Princess and the Frog was a phenom, with a $712,000 Friday-Sunday take. Since opening Wednesday, the film has made $1.1 million.
• John Travolta's Old Dogs ($16.8 million Friday-Sunday; $24.1 million Wednesday-Sunday) wasn't a dog, but it wasn't Wild Hogs, either.
• Thanksgiving was kind to Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol ($16 million Friday-Sunday; $22.5 million Wednesday-Sunday), which was up 30 percent from last weekend.
• After breaking wide, Fantastic Mr. Fox ($7 million Friday-Sunday; $9.5 million Wednesday-Sunday) broke into the Top 10.
• The debuting The Road ($1.5 million Friday-Sunday; $2 million Wednesday-Sunday—at 111 theaters) did well for a flick that skips the exciting apocalypse à la 2012 and goes straight to the depressing aftermath.
• Vince Vaughn's sturdy Couples Retreat exited the Top 10 after a seven-weekend stay, and a $106.7 million gross.
• Michael Jackson's This Is It took in $800,000 in its final weekend in theaters, and pushed its concert-movie record to $71.8 million.
Here's a look at the weekend's top-grossing films based on Friday-Sunday estimates as compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon, $42.5 million
- The Blind Side, $40.1 million
- 2012, $18 million
- Old Dogs, $16.8 million
- Disney's A Christmas Carol, $16 million
- Ninja Assassin, $13.1 million
- Planet 51, $10.2 million
- Precious, $7.1 million
- Fantastic Mr. Fox, $7 million
- The Men Who Stare at Goats, $1.5 million
(Originally published Nov. 29, 2009, at 9:42 a.m. PT)
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Robert Pattinson! Taylor Lautner! No meddling Sandra Bullock! Right this way to our New Moon Premiere gallery.