“Escapism” seems to be the word of the day lately, at least in Box Office terms. In times when the nation is twisted between elections and the Wall Street free-fall, along with war, healthcare issues and overall poverty, the last thing people want to see in their free time is a drama about terrorism. Not even a so-called children’s fantasy movie about a doomed city underground, with few days to live doesn’t seem like such a good idea.

What people want to see is mostly an easy-going movie that literally doesn’t require a lot of brain activity. Something that’s so preposterous, you don’t even bother to stop and wonder about the logics of it all. Something like that is “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” a tale of dancing talking dogs, which grossed a cool $52.5 million in only ten days.
The Walt Disney Co family comedy was on top of the chart, with $17.5 million in tickets this week alone, according to studio estimates from Nielsen EDI, leaving the other movies way behind, with mostly disappointing scores.

No.2 was, surprisingly, a low-cost horror flick, “Quarantine,” released by Screen Gems, a unit of Sony Corp., with $14.2 million, $2 million more than expected. A large number of horror fans found their own peace of mind while watching the tale about a contagion that turns an apartment building's tenants into flesh-hungry monsters.

This leaves “Body of Lies,” a star-packed movie with an embarrassing third place, considering that the crowds would much rather watch dancing dogs and zombies than Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott’s directorial vision. Oh, the shame! Their terrorist thriller and international espionage plot received not only really shaky reviews from critics, but also a not-so-warm welcome from the moviegoers.

Apparently, there’s too much war, terror and crisis in the real world, so there’s no need to think about it even when you’re enjoying a jumbo-sized popcorn and an extra-large soda with your friends. What the world lacks is funny Chihuahuas getting blinged-up and flesh-eating monsters to scare us back into coherence.

“Body of Lies” only gained $13.1 million, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday, while the total cost of production was $70 million, so the studious have much to fear, especially if new comedies keep coming up.

Meanwhile, “Chihuahua” continues to rule the chart, while more and more moviegoers choose to lay back and relax instead of trying to figure out the complicated twists in espionage stories.

Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution explains the situation by using, yet again, the word of the day: "This is only word-of-mouth coming back to us from theaters. I don't have any statistical proof. But they're telling us we're getting more unaccompanied-by-children adults coming on their own. They're looking for a little entertainment," he says. "The axiom we've always lived by is funny is money. People come out for comedy. They love to sit back and let someone give them a couple of hours of escapism."Ay, Chihuahua!