'Flightplan,' the Jodie Foster thriller, spent its second straight week atop the box office standings as it grossed an estimated $15 million. The film did well despite protests from flight attendants who were not pleased with the way the film depicted them and urged a boycott.
'Serenity' opened in second place with $10.1 million. The science-fiction film is a continuation of the cult TV show 'Firefly' and opened stronger than expected. Third place belonged to the animated macabre tale 'Corpse Bride,' by Tim Burton which took in $9.8 million.
David Cronenberg's 'A History of Violence' starring Viggo Mortonson finished fourth. The film had a strong opening in very limited release a week ago and took in $8.2 million this week once it was open nationwide.
Fifth place went to 'Into the Blue' starring Paul Walker and Jessica Alba. The thriller took in $7 million despite receiving poor reviews. Most critics found that the film was just an excuse for attractive people to be seen on camera in bathing suits.
Rounding out the top 10 were 'Just Like Heaven,'
'The Exorcism of Emily Rose,' 'Roll Bounce,' 'The Greatest Game Ever Played' and 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin.'
A big disappointment was the latest remake of the Dickins' classic, 'Oliver Twist', directed by Roman Polanski. The film, which stars Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, got mostly favorable reviews but only took in $875,000 in 779 theaters.
Overall receipts for the 12 top grossing films are down from 26 percent from a year ago when 'Shark Tale' had a strong opening to propel the box office.
