Watching the Box Office

Now with fresh-squeezed Add On.

When the resident teenager announced he was going off with his posse to view an 11 p.m screening of Watchmen, the tired old crystal set I use for a brain told me: "Heey now. Something is up at the b.o."

Moviegoers came out to watch "Watchmen" on Friday to the tune of an estimated $24.9 million, including the $4.6 million that the graphic novel adaptation about dystopian superheroes picked up at midnight screenings Thursday ...

Meanwhile, all the other product in the turnstile conga line moved down a notch or two.

Tyler Pery is now knocked down to #2. Taken lives in the third place position, and Coraline now hangs on to #10, having collected $63.2 million to date.

Add On: Watchmen rolls up a fine $55 million while most ofther movies at the cineplex do remarkably well too.

Or, as the Nikkster charts it:

1. Watchmen (Warner Bros) OPENER [3,611 theaters] $55.6M Wkd

2. Madea Goes to Jail (Lionsgate) Week 3 [2,151] $8.8M Wkd, Cume $76.5M

3. Taken (20th Century Fox) Week 6 [3,016] $7.4M Wkd, Cume $118M

4. Slumdog Millionaire (Fox SL) Week 17 [2,890] $6.9M Wkd, Cume $125.4M

5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Sony) Week 8 [2,558] $4.2M Wkd, Cume $133.6M

6. He's Just Not That Into You (NL/WB) Week 5 [2,445] $4M Wkd, Cume $84.6M

7. Coraline 3-D (Focus Features) Week 5 [1,959] $3.3M Wkd, Cume $65.6M

8. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Disney) Week 4 [2,290] $3.1M Wkd, Cume $38.3M

9. Jonas Brothers: 3D (Disney) Week 2 [1,276] $2.7M Wkd, (-78%) Cume $16.7M

10. Fired Up! (Sony) Week 3 [1,798] $2.6M Wkd, Cume $13.3M

Coraline methodically closes in on the $70 million level, stays at #7. The next big animated opus, of course, is Monsters vs. Aliens at the end of the month, then Up at the end of May. (WIll Shania Twain be on the soundtrack?)