Sandra Bullock Wolfs Down New Moon

The Blind Side scores weekend box office win; Twilight sequel consoles itself with nearly $600 million worldwide haul

It was as inevitable as a Taylor Lautner reference: New Moon wasn't going to stay No. 1 forever; The Blind Side wasn't going to stay No. 2 forever.

Sandra Bullock's insta-Oscar vehicle ran up an estimated $20.4 million Friday-Sunday, and finally overtook the Twilight sequel in the weekend box office standings. 

The deposed New Moon added another $15.7 million to a worldwide haul that's approaching $600 millon, and wasn't known to complain about a thing.

More Blind Side-versus-New Moon factoids, plus a look at the debut of George Clooney's own Oscar vehicle:

• The Blind Side has been dogging New Moon since their debuts three weekends ago. But aside from a Thanksgiving Day blip, when the Bullock movie finished No. 1, New Moon remained on top. Until Wednesday, that is, when the building Blind Side edged New Moon, per Box Office Mojo stats. New Moon moved back into first on Thursday, but Blind Side built a $1.5 million lead on Friday—and didn't look back. 

• The Blind Side is Bullock's second No. 1 movie of the year.

• Both movies are bottom-line wonders. The $29 million Blind Side has grossed about $130 million domestically. The $50 million New Moon has taken in about $256 million. Worldwide, it's at an astounding $570 million.

• Any day now, New Moon should pass Star Trek for fifth place among 2009's top box office hits.

• For those keeping score at home, Twilight was No. 1 for six of its first 17 days in theaters; New Moon bettered that average, going 12 for 17.

• First Iron Man, now Brothers. The Tobey Maguire-Natalie Portman-Jake Gyllenhaal drama beat the war-movie jinx with a solid $9.7 million, third-place debut.

• In limited release, Clooney's buzzed-about Up in the Air enjoyed good reviews and good business: $1.2 million at 15 theaters. Only The Princess and the Frog ($744,000 at two theaters) had a higher per-screen average. The Disney hand-drawn movie goes wide—and likely to the top—next weekend.

• There's only so much Clooney moviegoers can take, apparently. The Clooney-voiced Fantastic Mr. Fox ($2.9 million) fell out of the Top 10, as did the Clooney-led The Men Who Stare at Goats ($401,000). 

• Fantastic Mr. Fox didn't cost all that much to make: only $40 million. Unfortunately for the Wes Anderson family film, it's slowing down after taking in only $14.1 million overall.

• Precious ($2.3 million; $36.3 million overall) slipped from the Top 10, too, but look for it to return once Oscar nominations are issued.

• Robert De Niro's and Drew Barrymore's Everybody's Fine (weak $4 million) made life way too easy for headline writers.

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

1. The Blind Side, $20.4 million
2. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, $15.7 million
3. Brothers, $9.7 million
4. Disney's A Christmas Carol, $7.5 million
5. Old Dogs, $6.9 million
6. Armored, $6.6 million (tie)
7. 2012, $6.6 million (tie)
8. Ninja Assassin, $5 million
9. Planet 51, $4.3 million
10.  Everybody's Fine, $4 million

(Originally published Dec. 6, 2009, at 9 a.m. PT)