'The Roommate' Tops Weekend Box Office

James Cameron-produced 'Sanctum' came in a distant second place.
By Aly Semigran

Minka Kelly in "The Roommate"
Photo: Sony

Super Bowl weekend tends to leave an entire demographic on the sidelines: young women. But it seems women found a way to pass the time amidst the gridiron hoopla. They went to the movies. The trend isn't anything new, as last year, women helped make the weepy "Dear John" the #1 movie at the box office over Super Bowl weekend.

Women under the age of 21 had a big part in making the Leighton Meester/ Minka Kelly college chiller "The Roommate" #1 at a quiet weekend box office with $15.6 million. Sony's stalker thriller (60 percent of whose ticket buyers were female) jumped to an early lead when it brought in $6.4 million on Friday alone.

While Kelly and Meester made for a killer combo, it looks like the seemingly unstoppable pairing of James Cameron and dazzling special effects has started to flounder. Universal's Cameron-produced "Sanctum" found itself in second place with $9.2 million, even with 3-D ticket prices. The trapped-in-a-cave action vehicle received a paltry C+ from CinemaScore.

"The Roommate" likely snagged a good portion of the "No Strings Attached" audience, but the Natalie Portman/ Ashton Kutcher rom-com still passed the $50 million mark during its third week in theaters. Coming in at third place, the R-rated feature made $8.4 million, bringing its cumulative total to $51.8 million.

With just three weeks until the Oscars, audiences are making sure to see Best Picture front-runner "The King's Speech" before the big night. "Speech," which only fell 25 percent from last weekend's box-office figures, narrowly missed third place as it grossed $8.3 million. The film should pass the $100 million mark by the Academy Awards as it continues to expand in theaters. "The King's Speech" has made $84.1 million thus far in its theatrical run.

Rounding out the top five is Seth Rogen's comic book caper "The Green Hornet," which earned $6.1 million in its fourth week, bringing its overall total to $87.2 million.

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "The Roommate" ($15.6 million)
#2 "Sanctum" ($9.2 million)
#3 "No Strings Attached" ($8.4 million)
#4 "The King's Speech" ($8.3 million)
#5 "The Green Hornet" ($6.1 million)

Upcoming Releases

A veritable mixed bag of movies hits theaters on Valentine's Day weekend, including Justin Bieber's 3-D documentary "Never Say Never," the Adam Sandler/ Jennifer Aniston comedy "Just Go With It," Channing Tatum's historical action vehicle "The Eagle" and the 3-D animated feature "Gnomeo and Juliet."

Check out everything we've got on "The Roommate" and "Sanctum."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657374/roommate-tops-weekend-box-office.jhtml

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