'Meatballs' wins at box office for a second straight Sunday

Sept. 25, 2009, 7:56 PM EST

By Daniel Frankel,
TheWrap.com

Sony's "Cloudy and a Chance of Meatballs" reigned supreme for the second straight weekend, cooking up an estimated $24.6 million in ticket sales at the domestic box office for the three-day period, according to individuals at the studio.

The 3D animated feature dropped by only 19 percent from its $30.1 million premiere a week prior and has now grossed $60 million in North America.

Finishing a disappointing second, Disney's futuristic action film "Surrogates" starring Bruce Willis opened to $15 million for the weekend, about $10 million short of the most optimistic pre-release expectations for a movie that costs about $80 million to make.

Third place belonged to MGM's remake of the 1980 musical "Fame," which also fell low of predictions with $10 million. But that movie came in with a much lower production price tag of $18 million. Marketing costs were about the same, individuals at the studio said.

Meanwhile, the weekend's other major release, Overture's R-rated horror film set in space, "Pandorum," starring Dennis Quaid, took in only $4.4 million. The movie cost producer Constantin Films $40 million to produce, but Overture licensed North American distribution rights for $10 million.

On Wednesday, Overture also opened Michael Moore's latest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story," in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The movie will finish the weekend with more than $270,000 from those limited engagements and is set for wide release next weekend.

Here's a look at the top 10:

"Cloudy and a Chance of Meatballs" ($5.6 mil.)

"Surrogates" ($5.0 mil.)

"Fame" ($3.5 mil.)

"The Informant!" ($2.0 mil.)

"Pandorum" ($1.6 mil.)

"Love Happens" ($1.4 mil.)

"Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad..." ($1.4 mil.)

"Jennifer's Body" ($1.1 mil.)

"9" ($0.8 mil.)

"Inglourious Basterds" ($0.8 mil.)

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