It's not nice to judge people, but if you're one of the Americans who went to see Meet The Spartans this weekend, we're judging you a little. The latest in Fox's series of spoofs, and as sure a sign as any that the horsemen of the apocalypse have at least one foot firmly planted in a stirrup, topped the US box office this weekend $18.7 million. The question of why people went to see a film whose biggest star was Tegs from Eastenders and which boasted a trailer with fewer laughs than the London stock exchange floor is probably one which won't be answered in our lifetime. But we should move on.
Slightly behind at number two was Rambo, the belated return of Sylvester Stallone's slurring crusader, which took $18.2 million. The film has received largely negative reviews from critics, but is proving popular with cinemagoers.
This was not a good weekend for Cloverfield. After record breaking numbers last weekend, Matt Reeve's monster movie plummeted by 68% to $12.7 million and a number four position on the chart. The film seems to be a love it or hate it proposition, but the good word of mouth should have enabled it to hold up better than that. Cloverfield's poor second week allowed rom-com 27 Dresses to edge into number three with $13.6 million.
Diane Lane serial killer thriller Untraceable took a solid haul of $11.2 million and the number five spot, despite receiving a dismal Metacritic rating of just 33.
In the rest of the top ten, Juno comfortably crossed the $100 million mark by adding another $10.3 million. There's still little sign of this movie slowing down and its recent Oscar nominations, and possible success, could push it to about $150 million or even beyond. There Will Be Blood made a successful leap to a wider release. The Oscar favourite took $4.9 million on 885 screens, bringing its total to $14.8 million.