Box Office: War, Love and Secrets

Well, I knew I Am Legend was going to do well, but HOLY TOLEDO! Will Smith's apocalyptic science fiction/horror flick set a record for a film opening in December, an honor previously held by 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Alvin and the Chipmunks also found its niche, pulling in some righteous bucks of its own. As you can see, the gap between these two and the holdovers from previous weeks is quite dramatic. Here are the final numbers:

1. I Am Legend $76.5 million.
2. Alvin and the Chipmunks $45 million.
3. The Golden Compass $9 million.
4. Enchanted $6 million.
5. No Country for Old Men $3 million.

We've got a whopping five big releases this week, with three of them using colons in the titles. That must be a record right?

Charlie Wilson's War
What's It All About: Tom Hanks plays Charlie Wilson, a real life congressman who sought to aid Afghani rebels fighting off Soviet soldiers during the 1979 invasion.
Why It Might Do Well: As the TV spots are touting, this one has five Golden Globe nominations and some strong critical buzz working in its favor (83% Fresh over at Rottentomatoes.com). With bankable stars in front of the camera like Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Mike Nichols at the helm, what's not to like?
Why It Might Not Do Well: There's some serious competition out there this week from both newcomers and last week's two big releases. Also, a film dealing with politics may not be what people are looking for in a holiday movie.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $15 million

National Treasure: Book of Secrets
What's It All About: Nicolas Cage returns as Ben Franklin Gates, the globe trotting artifact hunter who must now track down pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary to clear his family's name.
Why It Might Do Well: The first National Treasure movie opened to a respectable $35 million weekend in 2004 before going on to make $173 million domestic and $347 million worldwide, so I bet a lot of folks who liked the first will be back for more. This one opens in way more theaters than anything else coming out this week and I suspect this will be next week's number one movie.
Why It Might Not Do Well: It depends on how many people are willing to forget Ghost Rider.
Number of Theaters: 3,500
Prediction: $55 million
P.S. I Love You
What's It All About: Make sure you bring tissues for this tearjerker about a young widow played by Hilary Swank who is having trouble getting on with her life in the wake of her husband's (Gerard Butler) death. Thanks to arrangements he made while alive, Swank's character begins receiving messages from him instructing her to celebrate herself.
Why It Might Do Well: This one is likely to tug the heart strings of true romantics and it has a two time Oscar winner in the lead.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Between a 30% Rotten rating at Rottentomatoes.com and a trailer that frankly turned me off, I don't see this making the top five.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $6 million

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
What's It All About: Based on the hit broadway musical and directed by Tim Burton. Johnny Depp plays a London barber who slits the throats of the people that have wronged him.
Why It Might Do Well: It's got Depp. It's got Burton. Need I say more?
Why It Might Not Do Well: This one's success will be tempered by its relatively small number of theaters.
Number of Theaters: 1,000
Prediction: $17 million

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
What's It All About: Humorous fictional biopic in the style of Walk the Line about Dewey Cox's (John C. Riley ) rise to stardom.
Why It Might Do Well: Producer Judd Apatow has an impressive resume that includes Superbad, Knocked Up, and The 40 Year Old Virgin, and the movie has a whopping 94% Fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Personally I hated the trailer. If they made that double entrendre about Cox one more time...
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $15 million

I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks did such big numbers last week I'm betting they'll cling to the top five, making it tougher for the new guys to get a foothold. Here's how it should play out:
1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets
2. I Am Legend
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks
4. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

And here's how last week's competition turned out:
1. Bubba8193: 16
2. Ray: 13
3. Matt: 11
3. Anna07: 11
4. Mike: 9
4. Gregory Rubinstein: 9
4. Nakedgremlin: 9
4. Aaron: 9
4. Courtney: 9
5. Josh: 8
6. Uforeader: 7
6. SOS: 7
7. Ryan S: 6

This will be your last chance to enter our box office competition before Christmas. What that has to do with anything I don't know, but I thought I'd mention it. Post your predictions in the comments section below before 5:00PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.