It was a winning weekend at the box office for Neil Labute’s racially tense thriller, “Lakeview Terrace.” The film starring Samuel L. Jackson made $15.6 million. The film and its success might signal the deathknell of LaBute’s creative career, but perhaps the beginning of a commercial one? Either way, it has to be seen as some sort of comeback after the remake of 2006’s “The Wicker Man,” which was universally laughed at from audiences and critics alike (a film so excruciatingly bad, it’s earned itself an ironist cult following).
Coming in second was last weekend’s number one, “Burn After Reading.” The Coen Brothers’ CIA farce made another $11.3 million in its second week of release. The Dane Cook comedy, “My Best Friend’s Girl,” took in $8.3 million for third place and the Weinstein Company’s animated “Igor” took fourth with a surprising $8 million. (Sure that number is low, but we didn’t even know the film existed until Friday.) “Righteous Kill” added $7.7 million more to its stash winding up in fifth. The only other new film in wide release, “Ghost Town,” debuted in eighth with $5.2 million which is no surprise as it looks amusingly terrible.
Next weekend is supposed to make a jump for the better, dollar-wise, with the new Shia Labeouf movie, “Eagle Eye.” A film based on a story Steven Spielberg came up with in the tub and handed off to other hacks to make.