LOS ANGELES (AFX) - 'The Covenant,' a tale of supernatural teens trying to destroy each other at an elite boarding school, ascended to the top of the weekend box office with a modest take of $9 million, according to studio estimates.
It was Sony Screen Gems' ninth top-opener this year, but its box office take was much less than the studio's 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose,' which took in more than $30 million in the same weekend a year ago.
'The summer (movie) season ended on a pretty high note, but the fall season is starting off a little slow,' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. 'I don't think anyone expected this weekend to set the world on fire in terms of box office.'
'The Covenant' opened in 2,681 theaters, drawing a screen average of $3,357 and knocking off the previous No. 1 movie, Disney's football drama 'Invincible.' The Mark Wahlberg flick dropped to third place with $5.8 million.
While 'The Covenant' ruled among teen moviegoers, older audiences helped 'Hollywoodland' grab the No. 2 spot with its $6 million debut.
The Focus Features' drama about the 1959 death of TV's Superman, George Reeves, stars Ben Affleck as Reeves, Diane Lane as his rich mistress and Adrien Brody as a private detective investigating Reeves' death.
It opened in just 1,548 cinemas but posted a per-theater average of $3,881 that was the highest among the top 10 movies.
The third film to crack the top 10 in its debut this weekend was 'The Protector,' a Weinstein Co. release that landed in the No. 4 spot with $5 million. 'Crank,' Lionsgate's action tale starring Jason Statham as a hit man, dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 with $4.8 million.
Yari Film Group's 'The Illusionist,' a drama set in 1900s Vienna and starring Edward Norton as a mysterious magician, continued to expand in its fourth week in theaters, taking in $4.6 million and the No. 6 spot.
Like 'Hollywoodland' and Fox Searchlight's 'Little Miss Sunshine,' 'The Illusionist' is an example of how films from smaller or independent-minded studios are finding audiences after a summer of blockbusters.
'Little Miss Sunshine,' starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell, dropped three notches to No. 7 this weekend with $4.4 million. Playing in 1,560 locations, the road-trip comedy averaged $2,837 per theater.
Meanwhile, moviegoers on Friday pushed the year's biggest hit, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,' past the $1 billion box office threshold -- only the third film to do so behind 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.'
After 10 weeks in theaters, the Johnny Depp sequel has grossed $416.6 million in the U.S. plus $587.5 million internationally.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. 'The Covenant,' $9 million.
2. 'Hollywoodland,' $6 million.
3. 'Invincible,' $5.8 million.
4. 'The Protector,' $5 million.
5. 'Crank,' $4.8 million.
6. 'The Illusionist,' $4.6 million.
7. 'Little Miss Sunshine,' $4.4 million.
8. 'The Wicker Man,' $4.1 million
9. 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,' $3 million.
10. 'Barnyard: The Original Party Animals,' $2.6 million.
Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Vivendi Universal; DreamWorks is a unit of DreamWorks SKG Inc.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount and Paramount Classics are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.
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