Natalie Portman continues to impress, as she has not one, but two films in the top ten this week. The romantic comedy No Strings Attached, featuring Portman and Ashton Kutcher, nabbed the top spot at the box office over the weekend by selling about $20.3 M in tickets. The film is directed by Ivan Reitman, and is the first movie starring Portman to win the box office since 2006, when she starred in V For Vendetta. It attracted a mostly female audience, typical for a romantic comedy.
Black Swan, the psychological thriller, was her second film to place in the top ten. Coming in at number six, the movie picked up $6.2 M in its eighth week in release, bringing its box office total to $83.5 M. If the film picks up a few Oscar nominations (announced on Tuesday morning), it is sure to continue a steady march toward $100 M.
Last week’s winner, The Green Hornet, dropped off 46% from its opening week total. It came in at number two this week with $18 M, bringing its two week total to $63 M. It was a costly production to make ($120 M) so it still needs to sell quite a few seats to earn back its budget.
The Dilemma had an almost identical drop off, and made an additional $9.7 M. The King’s Speech is now in its 9th week of release, and only dropped 2% from last week. This is another film that will surely enjoy a boost from multiple Oscar nominations on Tuesday.
True Grit came in at number five with $8 M, making it the second highest grossing western of all time (Dances With Wolves holds the record). The Housemaid, Barney’s Version, The Company Men, The Illusionist, and Another Year all fared nicely in limited release.
