Just as we predicted last Friday, Lakeview Terrace, the Samuel L. Jackson thriller, finished first at the box office this weekend, opening to the tune of  about $15.6 million. Not bad, considering it played in only 2,464 theaters.

Last week’s first place finisher, the Coen Brothers comedy Burn After Reading slipped to second place, but only fell a mere 41% from it’s debut weekend, picking up an additional $11.3 million this weekend for a total of $36.4 million in ten days. Despite a list of stars that includes Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and the Oscar winning Coen Brothers, the film cost a reported $37 million to make.

My Best Friend's Girl surprised most pundits by coming in third for the weekend, making approximately $8.3 million. The surprise was that it made so little and placed so high. No one was expecting much of the comedy starring Dane Cook and Kate Hudson.

More was expected of the animated feature Igor, which debuted in fourth place with about $8 million. More was also expected of the weekend’s other wide opener, Ghost Town, which didn’t even crack the top five. It made a meager $5.2 million to land in eighth place, proving that Great Britain’s Ricky Gervais isn’t quite ready to grab American audiences, no matter how fine his performances. The fact that the film only opened in 1,505 theaters didn’t help.

Gervais shouldn’t feel bad, however. Even top stars like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are having a hard time capturing the attention of American audiences. Their latest film Righteous Kill dropped off 53%, earning $7.7 million and placing fifth this weekend.  Last weekend it was in third place, and it has only earned $28.8 million so far,

Total box office numbers are down about 8% from the same weekend last year, but for the entire year, profits are ahead by one percent. It could be the smaller films that save the studios in the end. This week Appaloosa, starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen, opened in 14 theaters and averaged  $18,404 per venue, which is outrageous. $10,000 per venue is considered a solid success.

The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley, did even better. It opened in a mere seven locations averged $28,932 per venue. Those number bode well for the futures of both films, which will both be expanding to more theaters over the next several weeks.