SHOW BIZ: Weekend Movie Box Office Estimates: September 17- September 19, 2010

Rank	Film	Distributor	Weekend Total	# Of Screens	Weeks Playing	Cumulative Box Office
1	The Town	Warner Bros.	$23,800,000	2,861	1	$23,800,000
2	Easy A	Sony/Columbia	$18,200,000	2,856	1	$18,200,000
3	Devil	Universal	$12,584,000	2,809	1	$12,584,000
4	Resident Evil: Afterlife	Sony/Columbia	$10,100,000	3,209	2	$43,991,000
5	Alpha and Omega	Lionsgate	$9,200,000	2,625	1	$9,200,000

For more information, access the complete chart on boxofficemojo.com.

1."The Town:" Boston bank robber Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) falls for a woman his gang had previously taken hostage after feigning a chance meeting with her to ensure that she can't identify them in Affleck's adaptation of author Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. The son of a tough, Charleston, Massachusetts thief, Doug passed on his chance to walk the straight and narrow in favor of becoming a career bank robber. Not only is Doug's crew one of the most ruthless in Boston, but their also one of the best; they never a trace of evidence, and always make a clean break. Over the years, Doug's fearless partners in crime have become something of a surrogate family to him. Jem (Jeremy Renner), the most dangerous of the bunch, is the closest thing Doug has ever had to a brother. But a divide begins to open between the two career criminals when Jem takes bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) during a particularly tense heist, and the group subsequently discovers that she hails from their own tight-knit suburb. When Jem proposes that the gang make an effort to find out just how much Claire recalls about the crime, Doug fears that his volatile partner may do more harm than good and volunteers himself for the job. Later, Doug turns on the charm while pretending to bump into Claire by chance, and becomes convinced that she doesn't suspect him of being the same man who just robbed her bank. As the feds turn up the heat on the gang, Doug finds himself falling for Claire, and searching desperately for a means of cutting his ties to his criminal past. But with each passing day, Jem grows increasingly suspicious of Doug's true motivations. Now caught between two worlds with no chance of turning back, Doug realizes that his only hope for finding a happy future is to betray the only family he's ever known. - Jason Buchanan, Rovi

2. "Easy A:" Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is re-imagined as a contemporary high school comedy in this tale of a scheming student who plots to give her popularity a boost by painting herself the easiest lay in school. Like most high school kids, Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) just wants to be popular. So much so than when her best friend Rhiannon (Ally Michalka) asks Olive how her weekend went, the bored teen decides to whip up a spicy white lie just to make things interesting. But that minor exaggeration begins to take on a life of its own once it reaches the ears of motor mouth gossip Jesus freak Marianne (Amanda Bynes), and in no time the entire student body is abuzz over unassuming Olive's unrepentant weekend of debauchery. Of course not a word of it is true, but that doesn't stop everyone in school from talking, and an amused Olive from deciding to go with the flow. Playing the role of the hussy to the hilt, the girl who used to be invisible begins dressing provocatively, and turning heads in the hallways. And the students aren't the only ones taking notice either; Olive's English teacher Mr. Griffith (Thomas Hayden Church) is concerned that the kind of attention she's receiving isn't healthy for a developing girl, and his wife (Lisa Kudrow), the school guidance counselor, is in full agreement. The only people who seem remotely interested in the truth are Olive's trusting and open minded parents (Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson), and as Olive takes note of the parallels between her own situation and the plight of The Scarlet Letter heroine Hester Prynne, she realizes that she may be able to manipulate her newfound notoriety to give fellow classmate Brandon's (Dan Byrd) popularity a much-needed shot in the arm. Olive never thought her little game could possibly have any negative effect on anyone but herself, but when loose lips start sinking ships all around her, she realizes that it's high time for the truth to come out. - Jason Buchanan, Rovi

3. "Devil:" Five strangers trapped in an elevator realize that one of them is the Devil in this thriller from director John E. Dowdle (Quarantine) and screenwriter Brian Nelson (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night. The first installment of "The Night Chronicles," a film series in which up and coming filmmakers bring to life stories conceived by M. Night Shyamalan, Devil opens to find five Philadelphia office workers filing into the elevator of an inner-city office building. But a typical day at the office takes a sudden detour into terror when the elevator becomes stuck between floors, and the passengers discover that the Devil does exist, and he's standing right before them. As emergency workers work frantically to free them, secrets are revealed and the passengers realize their only hope for survival is to confront their darkest sins in front of the others. - Jason Buchanan, Rovi

"Resident Evil: The Afterlife:" Experience a new dimension in action horror as director Paul W.S. Anderson uses the 3D technology pioneered by James Cameron and Vincent Pace to take movie lovers on a nightmare thrill-ride. It's been five years since the zombie virus swept across the globe, and Alice (Milla Jovovich) is still traveling tirelessly in search of survivors. When the Umbrella Corporation ratchets up the stakes, an old friend turns up to lend Alice a helping hand. Rumor has it that some survivors have found sanctuary in Los Angeles, but when Alice and friends show up they find the city overrun with zombies, and quickly realize they've stumbled into a diabolical trap. - Jason Buchanan, Rovi

5. "Alpha and Omega:" What makes for the ultimate road trip? Hitchhiking, truck stops, angry bears, prickly porcupines and a golfing goose with a duck caddy. Just ask Kate and Humphrey, two wolves who are trying to get home after being taken by park rangers and shipped halfway across the country. Humphrey is an Omega wolf, whose days are about quick wit, snappy one-liners and hanging with his motley crew of fun-loving wolves and video-gaming squirrels. Kate is an Alpha: duty, discipline and sleek Lara Croft eye-popping moves fuel her fire. Humphrey's motto -- make 'em laugh. Kate's motto -- I'm the boss. And they have a thousand miles to go.

Back home rival wolf packs are on the march and conflict is brewing. Only Kate and Humphrey can restore the peace. But first, they have to survive each other. -moviefone.com

 

 

 

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!