This weekend at the US box office

A couple of bits about the past weekend's box office in the US...

Box Office: The Winner Tanks
(from Studio Briefing)
"Although it opened in first-place at the box-office, the Nicolas Cage thriller Bangkok Dangerous was considered an unmitigated flop this weekend as it drew just $7.8 million... This was not a pretty weekend at the box office." Nope, it was a thoroughly shocking one. Total ticket sales were just $51.6 million, "the smallest number of tickets sold in at least five years".

And the reason why?

Movie Reviews: Bangkok Dangerous
(from Studio Briefing)
...And here's the primary reason why, as the critics pan the only new release. And I thought the trailer looked quite good. Oh well.

Additionally, the all-conquering Dark Knight is still sitting pretty in 3rd, taking a further $5.52m -- increasingly thanks to IMAX screenings. It was originally announced as coming 4th this weekend, but actual figures (as opposed to the estimates they publish on Sunday, which are almost always correct about positions) show it beat The House Bunny by $0.01m.