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Universal paid $12 million for distribution rights to Sanctum (which cost $30 million to produce) so this kind of opening should put a film like this in the black. Advertising for Sanctum would likely have been double that amount, so Universal will be looking for a $30 million domestic total (or more) to push this one into profitability. Sanctum will end up as a decent library title for the studio, and not much else.

Natalie Portman's No Strings Attached is third, as Natalie Portman enjoys her fifth consecutive weekend with a film earning more than $8 million. After an opening that approached $20 million and a second weekend that declined only 32%, No Strings Attached holds decently again this weekend, earning $8.4 million and dropping 37%. Being the Oscar flavor of the year, Portman is going to help two films earn more than $75 million, this one and of course Black Swan, which is willing itself toward $100 million. No Strings Attached cost Paramount only $25 million to make (Ashton Kutcher must work for free), and has a cume so far of $51.8 million.

Fourth spot goes to The King's Speech, likely the current Best Picture fave. The King's Speech had another solid weekend, earning $8.3 million, and declining only 25%. Now in wide release for seven weekends, The King's Speech amazing run toward Oscar is one for the ages. This small British film cost only $15 million to make, has earned $84.1 million domestically, and another $70 million overseas, where it's just getting started.

The Green Hornet finishes fifth, as the Sony film is enjoying a very quiet box office season. The Seth Rogen comic book flick is now in its fourth weekend, and earned $6.1 million. It was off a 45%, as the Super Bowl would have cut in to the fanbase on Sunday. So far, the $120 million Sony release has earned $87.2 million on the domestic front, and more than $60 million overseas.

Sixth goes to last weekend's number one film, The Rite, with Anthony Hopkins. After opening close to $15 million last weekend, the latest exorcism flick earned $5.6 million in its second frame. That gives it a weekend-to-weekend drop of 62%, an expected amount for a genre horror flick. Made for $37 million, The Rite will struggle to earn that amount domestically, but with the Hopkins brand, The Rite could pick up a few more bucks overseas. Its total right now is $23.7 million.

Seventh goes to another genre film, much like The Rite – this time it's Jason Statham in The Mechanic. Never meant to be a huge earner, The Mechanic managed to open above $11 million last weekend, and like The Rite, doesn't hold well in its second weekend. The Mechanic earned $5.4 million in its second frame and drops 53%, which will raise very few eyebrows. Made for $40 million, The Mechanic will do okay for CBS Films, as it has earned $20.1 million domestically so far, and is just getting started overseas.

Eighth is True Grit, now in its seventh weekend of release. True Grit earned $4.8 million this weekend, off 37% from last weekend. The western crossed the $150 million mark on Thursday, and is the second biggest western of all time (not adjusting for inflation), behind Dances With Wolves, which earned $184.2 million. True Grit is just getting started overseas, but has a domestic cume now of $155 million.

Ninth goes to Ron Howard's The Dilemma. The comedy earned $3.4 million in its third weekend and dropped 39%. The $70 million Universal production has now earned $45.7 million.

In tenth is Black Swan, Natalie Portman's other film. Black Swan earned $3.4 million and fell 34%. It has a cume of $95.9 million. The Fighter, another of the big Oscar nominees, finished 11th, earning $2.9 million. It has a total of $82.5 million.

Overall this weekend, things remain heavy to the downside. The top 12 films earned only $75.4 million, the lowest January/February top 12 since 2007. The good news is that things will pick up next weekend, as the Super Bowl will be behind us. Openers next weekend include Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in Just Go With It, the Justin Bieber concert film (in 3D, natch!), Gnomeo and Juliet, and The Eagle, with one of my favorites, Drederick Channing Tatum.

Top Weekend Box Office for 2/4/11-2/6/11 (Actuals)
Rank	Film	Distributor	Estimated Gross	Actual Gross	Weekly Change	Running Total
1	The Roommate	Sony/Columbia	N/A	$15,002,635	New	$15,002,635
2	Sanctum	Warner Bros.	$9,224,970	$9,447,930	New	$9,447,930
3	No Strings Attached	Paramount	$8,400,000	$8,004,834	- 40.3%	$51,392,705
4	The King's Speech	The Weinstein Company	$8,310,000	$7,712,353	- 30.3%	$83,527,544
5	The Green Hornet	Columbia Pictures (Sony)	$6,100,000	$5,966,229	- 46.7%	$87,088,622
6	The Rite	Warner Bros.	$5,565,000	$5,589,311	- 62.2%	$23,701,534
7	The Mechanic	CBS Films	$5,370,000	$5,295,253	- 53.6%	$20,005,519
8	True Grit	Paramount Pictures	$4,750,000	$4,640,139	- 38.3%	$154,902,541
9	Black Swan	Universal	$3,400,000	$3,373,851	- 34.1%	$95,861,708
10	The Dilemma	Universal	$3,448,475	$3,282,555	- 42.1%	$45,574,025
11	The Fighter	Paramount	$2,900,000	$2,838,173	- 28.3%	$82,400,738
12	Yogi Bear		$2,335,000	$2,249,382	- 29.0%	$95,367,329
	Also Opening/Notables
	Waiting For Forever		N/A	$8,917	New	$8,917
	How i Ended This Summer	Film Movement	N/A	$4,968	New	$4,968
	Into Eternity	Int'l Film Circuit	N/A	$3,530	New	$4,679
	From Prada to Nada	Lions Gate	$740,000	$748,852	- 32.9%	$2,097,423
	Biutiful		$650,000	$641,647	+ 40.4%	$1,426,142
	The Company Men	The Weinstein Company	$564,000	$548,925	- 17.5%	$2,298,891
	Blue Valentine	The Weinstein Company	$815,000	$786,441	- 33.7%	$7,268,846
	Little Fockers	Universal Pictures	$1,253,375	$1,239,980	- 51.8%	$146,542,285
	TRON: Legacy	Walt Disney Pictures	$1,327,000	$1,363,991	- 46.1%	$168,758,238
	Tangled	Walt Disney Pictures	$1,907,000	$1,850,628	- 26.8%	$192,073,303
Click here for all weekend data
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations

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