Box Office: Doing the Pink Panther Push

Paul Blart finally fell out of the number one spot, but he didn't go far. He's still clinging to second place like it's a runaway shoplifter, though with four new releases this week his time in the top five may be over. Liam Neeson's kidnapping thriller Taken took top honors, with the second highest grossing Super Bowl weekend opening in history, trailing behind last year's Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. The new scare flick The Uninvited took third with the Reneé Zellweger romantic comedy New in Town taking seventh place with a mere $6.7 million. Here's the top five:

1. Taken: $24.7 million
2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop: $13.8 million
3. The Uninvited: $10.3 million
4. Hotel for Dogs: $8.6 million
5. Gran Torino: $8.2 million

Four new releases and there's a double dose of Dakota.

Coraline
What's It All About: Based on a book by renowned fantasy writer Neil Gaiman and directed by Henry Selick (who helmed The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach), this stop-motion animated feature tells the story of a young girl who discovers a parallel world she likes much better than her normal, mundane existence. Voice talent includes Dakota Fanning, Ian McShane, and Teri Hatcher.
Why It Might Do Well: Personally, the participation of Gaiman and Selick has me sold on this one. The way-cool trailer and 80% rating at Rottentomatoes.com are just icing on the cake.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The story may be too dark for younger kids.
Number of Theaters: 2,100
Prediction: $12 million




He's Just Not That Into You
What's It All About: Based on the bestselling book of the same name, this is a romantic comedy about modern relationships.
Why It Might Do Well: The cast, which includes Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, and Kevin Connolly is pretty impressive, and the film is scoring 80% fresh over at Rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: This looks tailor-made for younger adult audiences which may alienate older moviegoers.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $19 million


The Pink Panther 2
What's It All About: For the second time Steve Martin attempts to fill Peter Sellers' shoes in the role of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau.
Why It Might Do Well: 2006's Pink Panther took in $82 million domestically, representing a sizable audience. Also, hiring John Cleese to play Chief Inspector Dreyfus is downright inspired casting.
Why It Might Not Do Well: That $82 million made by the previous film is less impressive when you take into account the $80 million production budget.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $24 million

Push
What's It All About: Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning respectively play a telekinetic and a precognitive who are on the run from a shady government organization that wants to exploit their powers in this action thriller.
Why It Might Do Well: The comic book geek in me has a soft spot for movies about people with super powers.
Why It Might Not Do Well: It makes me think of Jumper, a thriller that left me less than thrilled.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $15 million

Here's what I think next week's Blartless top five will look like.
1. The Pink Panther 2
2. He's Just Not That Into You
3. Taken
4. Push
5. Coraline

The average score is inching upwards, and the aptly named greatone and I tied for first. Here's how we all did.
1. greatone: 11
1. Matt: 11
2. interjected: 10
3. Zach: 9
3. cough: 9
3. English Gavz: 9
3. VP: 9
4. LostinaFog: 8
4. NP: 8
4. Ray: 8
5. forgotaboutgabe: 7
6. Vera: 6

Post your predictions for the top five movies in the comments section below before 5:00PM Eastern Time on Friday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.