Box Office

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY
As Enchanted maintains its spell in theaters, award-hopeful films continue their search for mainstream audiences. And they aren't having much luck.
On one of the slowest weekends of the year, with just one nationwide opening, the live-action Disney fairy tale captured the top spot at the box office for the second straight weekend with $17 million, according to studio estimates from Nielsen EDI. The film, a gentle parody of animated princess movies, has taken in $70.6 million in two weekends.

More serious-minded movies, meanwhile, continue to do gangbuster business in their opening weekends, only to wither in nationwide release. The Coen brothers' drama No Country for Old Men, for instance, expanded by 135 theaters over the weekend, playing on almost 1,000 screens. But despite glowing reviews, the movie mustered only $4.5 million and eighth place.

"This may be one of the best fall seasons we've had in terms of quality," says Paul Dergarabedian of Media By Numbers. "But the business just isn't there. People aren't giving these films a chance."

The pattern is expected to repeat with two other films that opened in limited release. The family drama The Savages opened to a hefty $153,000 in four theaters, while the French biography The Diving Bell and the Butterfly did a healthy $75,000 in three theaters. Neither is expected to be a major hit after expanding later this month.

The key box-office test for Oscar hopefuls may be Dec. 21, when Johnny Depp's bloody musical Sweeney Todd and Tom Hanks' political comedy Charlie Wilson's War open.

"People say they want something different and original," Dergarabedian says. "They're going to get a chance to prove that. So far, all the studios have been able to do is bring the horses to water."

For now, though, it is family-friendly movies that continue to surge. The comedy This Christmas held on to the No. 2 spot for the second straight weekend with $8.4 million. The $13 million film has done $36.9 million in two weeks.

The $150 million animated thriller Beowulf continues to do solid if unspectacular business. It claimed third place with $7.9 million, bringing its three-week total to $68.6 million.

"The fall movies aren't exactly burning up the charts," says Clark Woods of MGM, whose horror film Awake met most analysts' expectations with a debut of $6 million, good for fourth place. "Right now, you're going to want a family movie if you're looking to get real big numbers."

Overall, ticket sales dipped 6% from the same weekend last year. Final figures are due Monday.

[JPX says, Jango Fett is cooler than any image from "Enchanted"]