Box Office Roundup: Groin Kicks Are Epic

The dust has settled on another wild and unpredictable box office weekend ... well, maybe not so wild and unpredictable, after all. Here's what I guessed on Friday:

1. Epic Movie
2. Smokin' Aces
3. Dreamgirls
4. Catch and Release
5. Night at the Museum

And here's how it went down:

1. Epic Movie - $19.2 million
2. Smokin' Aces - $14.3 million
3. Night at the Museum - $9.5 million
4. Catch and Release - $8 million
5. Stomp the Yard - $7.8 million

Get the full box office report here.

Yes, the public's capacity for urine jokes and kicks to the crotch proved endless -- or, if not endless, then worth $19.2 million -- as Epic Movie dominated the box office in, uh, epic fashion. Not only did it earn the same amount as its predecessor, Date Movie (which earned $19 million the weekend it opened), it also needed less time to do it, since Date Movie opened over a long weekend. Conclusions? Blockbuster flicks like Pirates of the Caribbean provide ridiculously easy targets for parody ... and we'll be seeing an Epic Movie 2 about this time next year. Also, now that we've had Scary Movie, Date Movie and Epic Movie, what will the next in the series be titled? War Movie? Family Movie? Indie Movie? Place your bets now.

As for the rest of the field, Dreamgirls dropped out of the top five, but it did finish sixth with $6.6 million. That's not awful for a movie whose Best Picture snub has apparently rocked Hollywood to its very core (yeah, yeah, I liked the movie too, but enough already). Movies that were nominated, The Departed and Babel, saw an extra boost this past weekend: The Departed shot from No. 35 to No. 12, and Babel was right behind at No. 13. And that's not even counting all those economical folks who snuck in to see Babel after catching Epic Movie right next door.
One last note: Night at the Museum continues to roll over everything in its path, with a domestic total thus far of $216 million. With no competition in sight until Bridge to Terabithia, it looks like Museum won't be slowing down anytime soon -- unless one of you filmmakers out there wants to rush out your family movie for release, say, this Friday. I beg of you. I like Ben Stiller and everything, but this is getting old.

Here are the results of everyone who played along this weekend, the big winner being Jason of New Movie Friday (who for some reason I envision wearing a hockey mask), whose only error was reversing the order of Night at the Museum and Catch and Release. You'll note that we're retiring the overall rankings in order to encourage new entrants -- no disrespect intended to our longtime players (you know who you are). I mean, you guys were just too good, you know? Had to even up the playing field somehow.

Scoring: One point for every movie correctly in the top five, two points for every correct placement, one extra point for getting the top movie right.

1. Jason of New Movie Friday - 12

2. Patricia - 11

3. Mario - 11

4. Brody - 11

5. Alex Isaacs - 11

6. chrisnbn - 9

7. Bubba8193 - 9

8. bostons leppard - 9

9. Stuart - 9

10. Erik Davis - 9

11. Mike - 9

12. Tangoeco - 7

13. MrPKI - 7

14. Evilone1414 - 3