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Third spot goes to last weekend's winner, Act of Valor, Relativity Media's release that uses actual Navy SEALs (who can't act their way out of a paper bag). After opening to $24.5 million last weekend and having a very targeted audience, it's not surprising that Act of Valor took in $13.7 million this weekend, dropping 44%. I'm actually surprised this one didn't drop further than it did, given its 29% fresh rating, but it may be getting some word-of-mouth due to the action scenes and an A Cinemascore. Relativity will cash in with this one, as Valor cost only $12 million to make, and has a gross so far of $45.2 million.

Safe House manages to stay at number four this weekend, as the Denzel Washington thriller digs in. Now in its fourth weekend, Safe House earned $7.2 million and dropped a not bad 34%. Another winner from Universal, Safe House crossed the $100 million mark on Thursday, making it Denzel's fourth film to cross the $100 million mark. The thriller will likely end up as Washington's second biggest of his career, behind only American Gangster, which took in $130 million. Safe House has a running total of $108.2 million, and is approaching $50 million overseas, all against a budget of $85 million.

Tyler Perry's Good Deeds falls from second to fifth this weekend, but shouldn't come as a surprise. Good Deeds earned $7 million and dropped 55% from the weekend previous. Only two of Perry's films have dropped less than 50% following opening weekend – Why Did I Get Married? and Diary of a Mad Black Woman, both of which were early in Tyler Perry's movie career. Like all Perry films, Good Deeds didn't cost a lot to make at $14 million, and should do okay as it has a gross so far of $25.7 million.

Now that The Lorax is on the scene, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island falls from third last weekend to sixth this weekend. With other family competition out there, Journey 2 couldn't keep its run alive. This weekend, Journey 2 could only eke out $6.9 million, which gives it a drop of 48%. Still, the $80 million film has now matched its budget stateside with a cume of $85.6 million, with the gravy coming overseas where its pulled in over $160 million.

Seventh spot goes to The Vow, which manages a better hold than last weekend's 57% plunge. In its fourth weekend, The Vow pulled in $6.1 million and dropped 38%. Easily Screen Gems' biggest film now, the $30 million production has brought in $111.7 million domestically and over $30 million from overseas theatres.

This Means War finishes eighth, and doesn't hold a candle to The Vow. The action/comedy/romance/bromance earned $5.6 million in its third weekend, a decline of 33%. The $65 million Fox film now has no chance of earning as much as its production budget stateside, as it has taken in only $41.5 million so far.

Ninth goes to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, as this Ghost Rider has tanked, thanks to the awfulness of the first one. Spirit of Vengeance could only find $4.7 million this weekend, as it dropped 48%. Good thing Sony spent only $57 million on this one, as it has a gross so far of only $44.9 million.

Finally in tenth is Best Picture winner The Artist. It earned $3.9 million, which was on par with last weekend, as it increases its take by 34%. The $15 million Weinstein release has now earned $37.1 million domestically, and is approaching $50 million from overseas cinemas.

Overall, the box office stays hot compared to last year. The top 12 films this weekend earned $153.5 million, thanks mostly to The Lorax and Project X, whereas last year the top 12 offered $121.1 million on the strength of Rango. Next weekend, we get some wildcards. Set to open is John Carter, Disney's lavish sci-fi adventure which some say cost as much as $250 million, Silent House, a seemingly sharply made horror film with Elizabeth Olsen, which likely cost about one tenth of what John Carter cost to make, and A Thousand Words, a new comedy from Eddie Murphy.

Top Weekend Box Office for 3/2/12-3/4/12 (Estimates)
Rank	Film	Distributor	Estimated Gross	Weekly Change	Running Total
1	Dr. Seuss' the Lorax	Universal	$70,720,485	New	$70,720,485
2	Project X	Warner Bros. Pictures	$20,775,000	New	$20,775,000
3	Act of Valor	Relativity	$13,700,000	- 44%	$45,239,346
4	Safe House	Universal	$7,212,225	- 34%	$108,176,715
5	Good Deeds	Lionsgate	$7,000,000	- 55%	$25,744,632
6	Journey 2: the Mysterious Island	WARNER BROS.	$6,925,000	- 48%	$85,611,000
7	The Vow	SONY	$6,100,000	- 38%	$111,712,000
8	This Means War	20th Century Fox	$5,625,000	- 33%	$41,463,639
9	Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance	SONY	$4,700,000	- 38%	$44,881,000
10	The Artist	The Weinstein Company	$3,900,000	+ 34%	$37,088,418
11	Wanderlust	Universal Pictures	$3,753,750	- 42%	$12,394,565
12	Gone	Summit Entertainment	$3,050,000	- 36%	$8,997,977
	Also Opening/Notables
	Tim And Eric's Billion Dollar Movie	Magnolia	$95,000	New	$95,000
	Being Flynn	Focus Features	$45,546	New	$45,546
	Boy	Paladin	$23,390	New	$23,390
	The Salt of Life	Zeitgeist	$21,000	New	$21,000
	Let the Bullets Fly	Variance	$11,500	New	$11,500
	Undefeated	Weinstein Co.	$84,311	+ 337%	$166,139
	Star Wars: Episode 1- the Phantom Menace 3d	Fox	$1,100,000	- 65%	$42,218,333
	Chronicle	Fox	$1,950,000	- 47%	$60,865,266
	We Need to Talk About Kevin	Oscilloscope	$132,000	+ 252%	$817,720
	A Separation	Sony Pictures Classics	$1,001,582	+ 173%	$3,726,995
	The Iron Lady	The Weinstein Company	$900,000	+ 29%	$27,056,004
	The Descendants	Fox Searchlight	$1,365,000	- 36%	$80,465,726
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations

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