Inglourious Basterds [BSTRD] succeeded in its mission at the box office and filled the coffers of The Weinstein Co. to distribute another day. The World War II actioner opened with a better than expected $37.6 million, the biggest ever for director Quentin Tarantino [QTARA] topping Kill Bill Part 2’s $25.1 million. Although the R-rated film played loose with history, the bloody violence appealed to male moviegoers. While word of mouth should be good, fans are likely to have already front-loaded the opening weekend.
After taking first place last weekend, District 9 [DIST9] dropped down a spot with $18.9 million, down an expected 49%. Directed by Neil Blomkamp, the sci-fi thriller has already amassed nearly $73.5 million.
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra [GIJOE] collected $12.5 million to finish third in its third weekend. At number four, The Time Traveler’s Wife [TTRWF] returned with $10 million, a 46% drop from its opening weekend.
Robert Rodriguez’s [RRODR] Shorts [SHORT] came up short at the box office. The family film grossed just $6.6 million for sixth place.
Post Grad [POSTG] fared even worse. The Alexis Bledel [ABLED] comedy charted tenth with a $2.8 million debut.
Worst of all the new wide releases was X Games 3D The Movie [XGM3D]. The Disney extreme sports documentary registered a miniscule $0.8 million in its only weekend in theaters.
| Rank | TITLE | F-S-S | TOTAL |
| 1 | INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS | $37,602,000 | $37,602,000 |
| 2 | DISTRICT 9 | $18,900,000 | $73,491,000 |
| 3 | G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA | $12,500,000 | $120,531,000 |
| 4 | THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE | $10,025,000 | $37,448,000 |
| 5 | JULIE & JULIA | $9,000,000 | $59,288,000 |
| 6 | SHORTS | $6,600,000 | $6,600,000 |
| 7 | G-FORCE | $4,205,000 | $107,315,000 |
| 8 | HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE | $3,515,000 | $290,275,000 |
| 9 | THE UGLY TRUTH | $2,850,000 | $82,887,000 |
| 10 | POST GRAD | $2,800,000 | $2,800,000 |
Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.
Tag(s): BSTRD, QTARA, DIST9, GIJOE, TTRWF, RRODR, SHORT, POSTG, ABLED, XGM3D