An economy continuing its slide into recession helped keep The Day the Earth Stood Still from a big opening this weekend, though it topped the box office standings with a take of only $31 million. The remake of the 1951 classic failed to move audiences, and contributed to the overall slow weekend, despite appearing on 5,900 screens at 3,560 theaters. Also it was shown on 123 IMAX screens, which accounted for 12 percent of the gross, or $3.8 million.  That was the highest IMAX share for a 2-dimensional film. Keanu Reeves stars in the sci-fi drama about an alien who comes to punish humans for destroying the Earth with their lifestyle. According to exit polls, 55 percent of audiences were male and 51 percent were over 25 years of age. 

Four Christmases continues to laugh its way into the top two, dropping only as far as second after topping the box office take in its first two weeks in theaters. It grossed $13.3 million over the weekend and has been the only family-friendly holiday comedy out so far this season, which could account for its success to date.  It has now grossed a total of $88 million.

Twilight dropped 39 percent this weekend, but still raked in $8 million in its fourth weekend in theaters.  It remains one of the most popular love stories in recent history grossing a total of 150.1 million so far.  Also, without adjusting for ticket prices, it is the highest grossing vampire movie. Fans of Stephenie Meyer’s four-book series are responsible for its insane success, and they are already hungering for the second installment, New Moon, scheduled to be released November 2009. 

Bolt slides into fourth place with $7.5 million, which is a 23.4 percent decline from last week. After four weeks it has earned $89 million and was supposed to do better. But matched against Twilight and Vince Vaughn’s sarcastic humor in Four Christmases, it was disadvantaged from the start.

Another expected blockbuster, Australia, continues to struggle with a 39 percent drop since last week, grossing only $4.3 million. After 19 days, its total is a mere $37.9 million. 

Nothing Like the Holidays debuted this weekend and earned $3.5 million to capture 7th place. The story centers on siblings who return home for the holidays, and learn the value of a strong famiy. With its release just in time for Christmas, this feature could certainly gain momentum, as families yearn for a heartwarming tale.

The computer animated fantasy by Fathom Studios, Delgo, came in 16th with $916,000, which features the voices of Freddie Prince Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Many films debuted this weekend with a limited release including Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, which earned $284, 000 showing in 6 theaters.  Also, Doubt grossed $525,000 in 15 theaters, and The Reader starring Kate Winslet managed to pull in $170,000 in eight theaters.  The Reader and Gran Torino will open nationwide on January 9th.

Milk and Slumdog Millionaire continue to make the top 12 despite remaining in limited release. Milk in its third weekend earned $2.6 million in 328 theaters, bumping its total up to $7.6 million.  Slumdog raked in $2.2 million appearing in 169 theaters for a $8.1 million total over five weeks.

 —Jessica Delli Santi