First look: ‘Final Destination’ No. 1 again as new Labor Day movies fizzle

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Moviegoers kept up their holiday tradition of staying away from theaters on Labor Day weekend, as three new movies failed to make much of an impact at the box office.

3-D scares drew the most fans once again, as Warner Bros.’ ‘The Final Destination’ stayed at No. 1, selling a studio-estimated $15.5 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada from Friday through Sunday. On a three-day basis, the New Line-branded picture declined 55% from last weekend, which is typical for horror films. It has now grossed a total of $50.6 million.

‘Inglourious Basterds’ continued to benefit from great buzz, dropping only 40% on its third weekend and earning $15 million over the four days, putting it at a close No. 2. Over 18 days its has sold $95.2 million in tickets domestically.

The magic of ‘The Proposal’ didn’t rub off on Fox’s ‘All About Steve,’ which earned $13.9 million for the full holiday weekend. Even with the extra day, that’s a slower start than other romantic comedies starring Sandra Bullock, including ‘Miss Congeniality 2’ and ‘Hope Floats,’ not to mention the June hit ‘The Proposal.’

Lionsgate’s action comedy ‘Gamer’ was also on the low end of estimates going into the weekend, based on pre-release audience polling. It grossed $11.2 from Friday through Monday. That’s $1.7 million less than ‘Crank,’ a similarly themed movie from the same directors, collected on Labor Day 2007.

Despite 10 years of ticket price inflation, Mike Judge’s new comedy ‘Extract’ barely grossed more from Friday through Sunday, $4.4 million, than his last wide release ‘Office Space’ did in 1999. The Miramax movie took in $5.3 million including the Monday estimate.

While ‘Inglourious Basterds’ continues to provide good news to the Weinstein Co., the second weekend of ‘Halloween II’ didn’t. It tumbled 65% from its opening weekend and grossed $7.1 million through Monday.

-- Ben Fritz