Shia LaBeouf’s newest film, action thriller “Eagle Eye,”
soared to the top of the box office this weekend, earning an impressive $29.2
million in tickets sales in North America,
despite less than stellar reviews from critics.
Shia LaBeouf is joined by Michelle Monaghan in the D. J.
Caruso-directed action thriller which tells the story of a young man and a
single mother who find themselves entrapped in the tenebrous conspiracy of a
terrorist cell.
LaBeouf, whose A-list status was confirmed this year once
and for all due to his co-starring in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Lost Ark,” last collaborated with Caruso on 2007’s “Disturbia,” which was also
a box office success. The new project however had a weekend opening worth $7
million more than the previous one.
Shia LaBeouf, 22, has double reason to celebrate. Not only
is his most recent movie a success, but his personal life has taken one certain
turn for the better. Authorities have decided to press no charges against him
in relation with the July car accident which led to his requiring extensive
surgery on his left hand.
Settling for No. 2 is the repairing of A-list pros Richard
Gere and Diane Lane in the romantic drama “Nights in Rodanthe,” directed by theater
director and playwright George C. Wolfe. Based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks
(“The Notebook,” “Message in a Bottle,” “A Walk to Remember”), the film tells
the story of two people past their prime who are each at a crossroads in their
lives and sort through the confusion and chaos as they fall in love and rediscover
who they really are.
Despite lukewarm reviews from critics who deemed “Nights in
Rodanthe” a tad too sentimental and improbable, the film earned $13.6 million,
showing once more that fall is a lovely time for watching romantic pics, no
matter how unrealistic the story.
The Samuel L. Jackson thriller “Lakeview Terrace,” which
opened at No. 1 last week, fell two positions this weekend, with ticket sales
worth an estimated $7 million. It was followed by another new release,
“Fireproof,” starring Kirk Cameron, earning $6.5 million.
“Burn After Reading,” directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and
featuring an esteemed cast which includes John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, George
Clooney, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand, remained in the top five, with a
respectable $5 million more in ticket sales. The film has now grossed $45
million in three weeks.
Spike Lee’s World War II drama “Miracle at St. Anna” made
its debut at No. 9. Other releases were not as lucky. “Choke,” a screen
adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel of the same name, directed by Clark
Gregg and starring Sam Rockwell and Angelica Houston, and Iraq war drama “The
Lucky Ones,” starring Tim Robbins and Rachel McAdams, had very modest earnings.
Both screened in a limited number of theaters.
For the first time in ten weeks, “The Dark Knight” failed to
remain in the top ten movies being sought at North American theaters.
