Some movie I've never heard of won the box office

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

21 drew a better hand than projected this weekend, collecting $23.7 million at theaters this weekend, according to studio estimates from box office trackers Nielsen EDI.

The blackjack film starring Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne did $8 million more than analysts expected, despite earning recommendations from less than a third of the nation's critics, according to the survey site RottenTomatoes.com.

"A lot of people see Vegas as an adult Disneyland, and this movie captured that escapist fun," says Rory Bruer, distribution chief for Sony Pictures, which released the movie. "They wanted to be taken inside that life."

Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who became the first movie of the year to break $100 million, taking second place with $17.4 million and bringing its three-week total to $117.3 million.

The spoof comedy Superhero Movie was third with a debut of $9.5 million, about $3 million less than many analysts projected.

Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns was fourth with $7.8 million, followed by the comedy Drillbit Taylor with $5.8 million.

The only other major newcomer, the Iraq war drama Stop-Loss, continued the struggle of war-related movies. It managed eighth place with $4.5 million, about $1 million below projections.

Ticket sales plummeted 24% from the same weekend last year and continued Hollywood's spring doldrums.

Attendance is down 3% from the same weekend last year, according to Media By Numbers.