'Chihuahua' top dog at boxoffice
Disney's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" broke out of a crowded pack to take best of show at the weekend boxoffice....
Two ideologically driven movies squeezed into the bottom of the top 10. Vivendi Entertainment's "An American Carol," David Zucker's flag-waving, proudly right-wing comedy, secured the ninth-place berth with $3.8 million, while Liosgate's "Religulous," Bill Maher's skeptical lambasting of the world's religions, was right behind in 10th place with $3.5 million.
However, Daily Variety provides this:
Vivendis "American Carol" grossed $3.7 million from 1,639 screens, while "Religulous" bowed to $3.4 million from 503.
Regional box office breakdowns for the two pics are a lesson in the partisan divide.
The Maher docu overperformed expectations in the Northeast and slightly overperformed in the West, while it underwhelmed in the Midwest, South and Southeast.
"Religulous" drew crowds in the very states in which Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is polling well. According to RealClearPolitics.com, an independent political website that culls and publishes a broad sampling of polling data, Obama enjoys a lead over John McCain in California, Oregon, Washington, all of New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.
It was the polar opposite for "American Carol," which rips left-wing politics. The film overperformed in the Midwest, South and Southeast, home to some of the states where McCain commands a lead, including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and the Dakotas.