‘Role Models’ Sets Example, Tops Weekend Chart For Nov. 7-9

November 9, 9:19 PMAtlanta Movies ExaminerRyan McNally

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Comedy reigned for a second straight weekend, with Role Models following in the footsteps of last week’s chart champ Zack And Miri Make A Porno to take the top slot for the weekend of Nov. 7-9 on our charts (an average of box office, critics’ reviews and audience response**). This week featured an unusually strong top 5, making it a great time to be a filmgoer.

1) Role Models (NR). Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott proved a potent comedic duo, scoring in the Top 5 at the box office (#2), Rotten Tomatoes (#4 among the B.O. top 20), Metacritic (tied for #5), and among IMDB users (tied for #2).

2) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (NR). The animated sequel blew away the box office competition with a $63.5 million gross, and posted strong reviews (61 metacritic) and audience feedback (7.6 IMDB) to round out a fine debut.

3) Changeling (2). Barely edged by Madagascar for the #2 slot, Eastwood’s latest dropped only 22 percent at the box office compared to last week. With an outstanding 8.0 IMDB user rating (#1 among the B.O. top 20), it could become the word-of-mouth hit of the season.

4) Zack And Miri Make A Porno (1). Box office may be weak by Seth Rogen standards, but Porno is looking like it will be Kevin Smith’s top-grossing film ever, and with a 7.9 IMDB rating, up there with Clerks as his most-loved film as well.

5) Rachel Getting Married (5T). Its biggest expansion so far (now up to nearly 400 theaters) went well, and a long chart life looks certain. Hathaway is shaping up as an Oscar lock for Best Actress … will more nominations for the film follow?

6T) High School Musical 3 (5T). The disconnect between audience reaction (3.3 IMDB rating) and critics’ reviews (67 tomatometer rating) is interesting. Box office is now at $75 mil and counting against an $11 million budget.

6T) Body Of Lies (4). Struggling to reach $40 million … kind of a puzzler why this one flopped so badly. Maybe the latest victim of viewer disinterest in stories set in the Middle East?

8) The Secret Life Of Bees (7). Dropped a mere 22 percent at the box office, and looks poised to triple its $11 million budget in grosses. High rating among women (8.0 versus 6.6 overall at IMDB) could well be the reason for its success.

9T) Appaloosa (3). Star Viggo Mortenson has been assembling a fascinating filmography … a trend that looks to be continuing with the upcoming film The Road, based on Cormac McCarthy’s bestseller.

9T) Happy-Go-Lucky (NR). Critics swooned for the latest Mike Leigh comedy, with a 93 tomatometer score (#1 among the B.O. Top 20) and an 84 metacritic tally (also #1). As lead character Poppy would no doubt agree, that’s reason for optimism.

**Tired of reading about the latest dumb action flick, lame gross-out comedy or played-out torture porn horror pic that took home the box office crown? Wish the media balanced out screaming headlines about box office winners with more stories about “the top reviewed films” or the “films audiences loved the most”?

I’m with ya. And that’s why I’ve devised a new ranking system (see list above) that combines critics’ reviews, audience response and, yes, box office to deliver a comprehensive list of what’s hot in theaters in each weekend.