Fantastic Four are top of the charts

When a studio launches a blockbuster sequel, chances are all the executives were praying to a gigantic golden piggybank for the new film to be more successful than the last. Well, it looks like the Fox team were only slightly successful. For while Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer arrived in first place with $57.4 million and managed to outdo the original film’s opening, it only beat it by $1.4 million. We doubt that will be mentioned in the movie’s adverts for the next week, however.

That meant Ocean’s Thirteen got knocked down to second place, dropping 47% to take $19.1 million, with $69.8 million in the bank so far. The movie’s result is frankly rubbish compared to Knocked Up, which is doing just fine, slipping just 26% and making $14.5 million this weekend. It’s on course to best The 40-Year-Old Virgin’s total gross by next week.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End began to sink slowly down the charts this weekend, arriving at fourth with $12 million and a cash chest of $273 million to date. Penguin beach ‘toon Surf’s Up, meanwhile, is looking more like a wipeout that anything else, it made $9.3 million in its second weekend, for a current total of $34.6 million, but it still placed ahead of Shrek The Third, which made $9 million this weekend. That said, Shrek has a slightly healthier total, with $297.2 million to his name.

And so to seventh place and the other new opener of the weekend: Warners’ attempt to reignite the appeal of teen girl sleuth Nancy Drew. Sadly for the studio, few among the target audience seemed all that interested, and the movie took home just $7 million. Ouch… Hostel: Part II slumped bleeding and bruised to eighth after a disappointing opening, making just $3 million in this second weekend.

Kevin Costner’s killer instincts continued to bubble along slowly with Mr Brooks, making $2.8 million at ninth, with $23 million so far. Finally, at 10th, everyone’s favourite web slinger in everyone’s least favourite movie of the trilogy, Spider-Man 3. Starting his descent from the top 10, Spidey made $2.5 million after seven weeks. It’s still the top-grossing movie of the blockbuster brigade this year though – with $330 million in the bank.