The basic plot is that Hilton, the hottie, is best friends with Christine Lakin, the nottie. A guy is in love with Hilton, but can’t get over how crappy looking her friend is. Then the friend has a super sweet extreme makeover, takes off her kilo of fug makeup, and becomes equally as hot as Hilton (if still brunette), at which point the guy realizes he’s been in love with the ugly duckling all along. Obviously this movie sucks b#lls, but plenty of reviewers take care to point out how offensive the message of this story is, placing all the girl’s value on her physical beauty and implying she can’t get love without it.
Well, this probably sounds a little cynical but, to me, the dumbed down, superficial comedy based on the Pygmalion template is just another cheap staple of cinema, like Taming of the Shrew stories (when romance based on a ruse or a game turns real) or Prodigal Son stories (when the reckless hero redeems himself but it’s too late to avert tragedy).
This weekend served up no real surprises as far as the box office is concerned, but there are a couple of films that deserve credit for some very impressive numbers:
Juno, nearly doubling the number of theaters it was in from the weekend before, crossed the 50 million mark and is poised to play very strongly for the next couple of months assuming the Academy likes it.
Will Smith’s newest, I Am Legend, shattered box office records, hauling in 76 million, the most ever for a December opening. The artist formerly known as Fresh Prince stands as one of the only true movie stars of his time, able to open a movie regardless of the genre (The Pursuit of Happyness, Hitch, Shark Tale) - and earn a healthy amount of critical and industry praise at the same time.
Alvin and the Chipmunks 45 million dollar haul had a lot to do with the fact that there were no boycentric kids films out there. A little lesson in movie math for you all - a trailer involving a CG chipmunk putting scat in his mouth + Jason Lee = Success!
The Golden Compass continued to underperform 9 million, a sharp 65% drop from the weekend before. These numbers are bad enough to ask if New Line will adapt the other books in the series, or if they will do so but at a greatly reduced budget.
Enchanted took in another 6 million, and should hit the 100 million milestone in the next two weeks. Amy Adams‘ asking price couldn’t be happier.
And although it was only on 1300 screens, No Country for Old Men pocketed enough change to finish fifth for the weekend, indicating that winning a bunch of critics awards really can help you at the box office.
Among the people giving thanks for the box office this weekend is Disney, who raked in just over 50 million in the long holiday frame with their family friendly live-action fairytale Enchanted. Little surprise that a kid- and female-friendly film would dominate the holiday box office chart. Bee Movie and Fred Claus also benefited from the increased demand for family viewing.
However it wasn’t just the major studios who enjoyed success. Sony imprint Screen Gems’ This Christmas scored the biggest per-screen average of anything in the top 10, raking in twice its budget on opening weekend.
And after nearly a year of anticipation, moviegeeks around the country were finally able to see the Coen brothers adaptation of No Country for Old Men as it expanded to over 800 screens. Backed with the strongest reviews of the season, the per-screen average for the Miramax-released film was so large, it broke into the top 10.
The Paris Hilton vehicle The Hottie and the Nottie opened in theaters last weekend and took home approximately $9,000 dollars, making it possibly the biggest box office bomb of all time. 
This weekend served up no real surprises as far as the box office is concerned, but there are a couple of films that deserve credit for some very impressive numbers:
