Disney’s “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” spent its second straight weekend at the top of the Box Office charts, although the film grossed 64% less than its opening total last week.
The Weinstein Co.’s R-rated comedy “Zack and Miri,” starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, opened with $10.7 million.
In overall Box Office results, the weekend’s $84 million gross was a considerable 37% decline from grosses rung up over the same weekend last year, according to Nielsen EDI. 
Below are Box Office totals for the weekend of October 31- November 2, 2008, from Nielsen EDI.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS(MILLIONS)

1
High …

“High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” the new theatrical release from Disney, pulled in an astounding $42 million in opening grosses over the weekend to open at head of the class at the domestic Box Office, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Saw V”, the new horror sequel from Lionsgate, pulled in an impressive $30.5 million over the weekend to finish in second place.
Overall, industry-wide grosses at Box Office for the weekend reached $135 million – a 32% improvement over the same weekend last year.
Below are Box Office totals for the weekend of …

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” the new Disney film featuring conversing canines, took in an estimated $29 million over the weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 
The total was Disney’s biggest October opening, easily surpassing opening weekend earnings for “Ladder 49″ ($22.1 million) in 2004.
DreamWorks/Paramount’s thriller “Eagle Eye” had another impressive showing in its second weekend, taking in an estimated $17.7 million. 
Below are box-office totals for the weekend of October 3-5, 2008, from Nielsen EDI.

RANK
(by gross earnings)
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND EARNINGS
(Oct. 3-5)
GROSS EARNINGS
($ MILLIONS)

1
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
 WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
$29,300,465
$29.3

2
Eagle Eye
DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT
$17,709,817
$54.6

3
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
SONY PICTURES
$11,311,751
$11.3

4
Nights In Rodanthe
WARNER BROS.
$7,368,259
$25.1

5
Appaloosa
WARNER BROS.
$5,050,310
$5.6

6
Lakeview Terrace
SONY PICTURES
$4,561,227
$32.2

7
Burn After …

It may come as no surprise, but now the proof has arrived: males under 25 and females over 25 have almost polar opposite tastes in movies. 
That’s one of many findings from Nielsen PreView’s new Movie Partnership Calculator, which allows marketers to match upcoming movie titles with specific demographic targets.  The calculator uses survey data profiles from Nielsen Entertainment’s MarketNavigator to identify movies that are likely to resonate with key demographic groups.
For now, mothers and their young sons may struggle to agree on movies, but there’s hope for date night.  According to Nielsen’s …

“Eagle Eye”, the terrorism-themed thriller from Dreamworks/Paramount, took in an estimated $29.2 million between Friday and Sunday, to open strongly at the top of the U.S. Box Office this weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Nights in Rodanthe,”  starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, came in second, earning $13.6 million.
Below are box-office totals for the weekend of September 26-28, from Nielsen EDI.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS
(MILLIONS)

1
Eagle Eye
DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT
$29,150,721
$29.2

2
Nights In Rodanthe
WARNER BROS.
$13,418,454
$13.4

3
Lakeview Terrace
SONY PICTURES
$6,966,711
$25.7

4
Fireproof
IDP DISTRIBUTION
$6,804,764
$6.8

5
Burn After Reading
FOCUS FEATURES
$6,196,269
$45.6

6
Igor
MGM STUDIOS
$5,383,912
$14.2

7
My Best Friend’s Girl
LIONSGATE
$3,882,912
$14.6

8
Righteous Kill
OVERTURE FILMS
$3,709,480
$34.7

9
Miracle At St. Anna
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
$3,477,996
$3.5

10
Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys
LIONSGATE
$3,125,620
$32.8

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

Will the presidential elections impact Hollywood? 
If history is any guide, Democratic presidents are associated with larger box office sales growth.  From 1980 to 2007, box office sales grew by 2.8%, on average, during Democratic administrations, while average sales growth under Republican administrations was just 1%, according to research released Monday by Nielsen PreView.
Overall, in the past three decades, movie sales have grown almost three times faster during Democratic administrations than during GOP administrations, according to Nielsen.

“Lakeview Terrace”, the new thriller from Sony Pictures, starring Samuel L. Jackson, claimed the top spot at the Box Office, earning $15.6 million in its opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Coen brothers comedy “Burn After Reading” dropped to second place, after earning $11.3 million when it opened last weekend. 
Below are box-office totals for the weekend of September 19 to 21, from Nielsen EDI.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS
(MILLIONS)

1
Lakeview Terrace
SONY PICTURES
$15,004,672
$15.0

2
Burn After Reading
FOCUS FEATURES
$11,028,257
$36.1

3
My Best Friend’s Girl
LIONSGATE
$8,265,357
$8.3

4
Igor
MGM STUDIOS
$7,803,347
$7.8

5
Righteous Kill
OVERTURE FILMS
$7,424,479
$28.5

6
Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys
LIONSGATE
$7,271,899
$28.1

7
The Women
PICTUREHOUSE
$5,417,779
$19.3

8
Ghost Town
DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT
$5,012,315
$5.0

9
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$2,915,174
$521.9

10
The House Bunny
SONY PICTURES
$2,662,650
$45.6

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

The Coen brothers’ new comedy “Burn After Reading” beat pre-release expectations, taking in an estimated $19.4 million on its debut weekend and topping the Box Office charts for September 12-14, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 
Below are last weekend’s box-office totals from Nielsen EDI, as well as a full weekend box-office wrap-up from The Hollywood Reporter.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS
(MILLIONS)

1
Burn After Reading
FOCUS FEATURES
$19,128,001
$19.1

2
Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys
LIONSGATE
$17,381,218
$17.4

3
Righteous Kill
OVERTURE FILMS
$16,288,361
$16.3

4
The Women
PICTUREHOUSE
$10,115,121
$10.1

5
Tropic Thunder
DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT
$4,183,405
$103.0

6
The House Bunny
SONY PICTURES
$4,154,427
$42.0

7
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$4,128,153
$517.8

8
Bangkok Dangerous
LIONSGATE
$3,031,307
$10.6

9
Traitor
OVERTURE FILMS
$2,131,639
$20.7

10
Death Race
UNIVERSAL
$2,056,415
$33.2

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

In the lowest grossing movie weekend since 2003, Lionsgate’s “Bangkok Dangerous” claimed the top spot at the Box Office over the weekend.  The film earned an estimated $7.8 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 
Below are last weekend’s box-office totals from Nielsen EDI, as of Monday, September 8, 2008.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS

1
Bangkok Dangerous
LIONSGATE
$7,783,266
$7.8

2
Tropic Thunder
DREAMWORKS / PARAMOUNT
$7,230,710
$96.5

3
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$5,515,119
$512.0

4
The House Bunny
SONY PICTURES
$5,512,870
$36.6

5
Traitor
OVERTURE FILMS
$4,274,297
$17.3

6
Babylon A.D.
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
$4,180,570
$17.4

7
Death Race
UNIVERSAL
$3,710,915
$29.9

8
Disaster Movie
LIONSGATE
$3,031,307
$10.6

9
Mamma Mia!
UNIVERSAL
$2,855,945
$136.4

10
Pineapple Express
SONY PICTURES
$2,255,875
$84.0

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

“Tropic Thunder” topped the box office charts for a third straight weekend, earning approximately $14.6 million to close the summer movie season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Babylon A.D.” claimed second place, taking in approximately $11.5 million over the weekend, and “The Dark Knight” finished a close third with approximately 11.1 million. 
Below are last weekend’s box-office totals from Nielsen EDI, as of Monday, September 1, 2008.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS

1
Tropic Thunder
DREAMWORKS / PARAMOUNT
$14,602,121
$86.9

2
Babylon A.D.
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
$11,541,571
$11.5

3
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$11,127,290
$504.8

4
The House Bunny
SONY PICTURES
$10,177,701
$29.7

5
Traitor
OVERTURE FILMS
$10,006,327
$11.5

6
Death Race
UNIVERSAL
$7,889,755
$24.7

7
Disaster Movie
LIONSGATE
$6,945,535
$6.9

8
Mamma Mia!
UNIVERSAL
$5,421,815
$132.5

9
Pineapple Express
SONY PICTURES
$4,448,782
$80.8

10
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
WARNER BROS.
$3,764,410
$30.7

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / …