The holiday weekend was the highest grossing in January and a new high for the three days preceeding Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Leading the way was Paul Blart: Mall Cop earning $31.8 million. It appeared on 3,400 screens in 3,144 theaters. This Kevin James' first starring role on the big screen. His television comedy series King of Queens was very successful, and he has also appeared in Hitch alongside Will Smith and I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry with Adam Sandler.

Mall Cop had the biggest debut among the popular comedy genre that follows the title format: “proper name: occupation” such hits as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. Exit polls show that 56 percent of the audience was under the age of 25 and was split between male and female attendees, according to Sony pictures.

Gran Torino had a strong second weekend in nationwide release, grossing $22 million on 2,972 theaters. The Clint Eastwood film had a budget of $33 million, and now has earned $73 million in six weeks.

My Bloody Valentine 3D earned $21.3 million on 2,800 screens in 2,534 theaters, which includes 1,033 digital 3D presentations. This is a remake of the 1981 low-budget Canadian horror film of the same name. The new film has used its 3D marketing technique to attract audiences with airborne knifes and fire coming through the screen to add to the scariness of the film.

Notorious, the biographical story of rapper Christopher Wallace, raked in $20.5 million appearing on 2,000 screens at 1,638 sites. It earned almost as much as My Bloody Valentine 3D in 900 fewer theaters.

Bringing up the rear among new release this weekend was Hotel for Dogs, which ranked fifth overall, earning $17.0 million. It appeared on 3,400 screens in 3,271 theaters. Past dog movies have had much more success, including Beverly Hills Chihuahua and more recently, Marley & Me.

Bride Wars grossed $11.7 million, which was a 44 percent decrease from the previous weekend. The comedy has already grossed $9.2 million on 1,900 screens at 1,789 sites.

Defiance and Last Chance Harvey expanded nationwide, but had meager results. Defiance the World War II drama starring Daniel Craig grossed $9.2 million on 1,900 screens at 1,789 sites. And Last Chance Harvey, a romantic comedy starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, appeared in 1,054 theaters and earned $4.7 million.

 —Jessica Delli Santi