Cloverfield Stomps the Box Office

Bazookas couldn’t stop it. Military helicopter rockets couldn’t slow it down. And neither can the box office, because J.J. Abrams’ much-hyped “Cloverfield” showed that viral marketing still works by chomping down on an impressive $41 million take in its opening weekend debut, the biggest January opening ever, topping the $35.9 by the “Star Wars” re-release in 1997.

But if you weren’t buying popcorn for “Cloverfield”, you were probably doing it for Katherine Heigl’s romantic comedy “27 Dresses”, which did surprisingly well by opening at #2 with $22.4 million, thus cementing the Grey’s Anatomy actress as a bona fide movie star.

“Mad Money”, on the other hand, opened at #7 with $7.7 million. I guess comedy crime capers aren’t anyone’s cup of tea.

Here’s how the Top 10 looked (via):

1. “Cloverfield,” $41 million.

2. “27 Dresses,” $22.4 million.

3. “The Bucket List,” $15.2 million.

4. “Juno,” $10.3 million.

5. “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” $8.1 million.

6. “First Sunday,” $7.8 million.

7. “Mad Money,” $7.7 million.

8. “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” $7 million.

9. “I Am Legend,” $5.1 million.

10. “Atonement,” $4.8 million.