Early Report: 'Just Go With It' Just Barely Wins the Weekend Over Justin Bieber

Feb 13th 2011 02:19PMEmail ThisAs our pals at Moviefone analyze the new winners at the box office, one thing's clear: This was a very good weekend for movies starting with the letters J-U-S-T.

So far, the Adam Sandler-Jennifer Aniston comedy 'Just Go With It' and the concert doc 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never' are neck-and-neck. When final numbers are released Monday, positions could switch, but it looks like 'Just Go With it' had the bigger weekend, at an estimated $31 million. That's a fairly typical opening for Sandler, but it's great news for his co-star: it's the best debut for Aniston since the $36.4 million premiere of 2008's 'Marley & Me.'

And talk about missed connections: the romantic comedy may have done even better, had Valentine's Day not fallen on a Monday this year.
Tallying up the totals makes for a close race, though. At press time, Bieber was one floppy lock of hair behind Sandler for the weekend, and because of Thursday previews, about one strand of hair ahead for the total gross since opening. From Friday to Sunday, studio estimates place the teen-pop heartthrob's movie at $30.3 million. But add in the take from early 'Never Say Never' screenings on Thursday, and its estimated total is a mere $3,000 ahead of 'Just Go With It'.

Whether the 3-D doc will have legs is uncertain -- event movies like this tend to get most of their audience the first weekend -- but for now, Bieber is definitely giving the Sandman a serious run for his money.

'Gnomeo & Juliet' enjoyed a strong third place debut with an estimated $25.5 million. It's a lot better than the movie, co-starring Emily Blunt, was expected to do (with predictions running at about $15 million). The cartoon had a long and troubled production history, and only a middling marketing push from Disney, but it was helped by strong reviews, the 3-D surcharge, a familiar Elton John soundtrack to appeal to grownups, and a relative absence of other family fare at the multiplex.

'The Eagle,' the weekend's fourth new wide release, earned just an estimated $8.6 million. Why didn't it fly higher? Perhaps because it was going after the same young male audience as 'Just Go With It,' or because there are still two or three other strong action movies still in multiplexes, or because Channing Tatum simply isn't a leading man who can open a movie yet -- unlike Sandler, Bieber, and an animated lawn gnome.

Last week's champ, 'The Roommate,' fell to fifth place with an estimated $8.4 million. That's a 44 percent drop from its opening weekend, typical for a mid-level thriller like this. Its two-weekend total stands at $26.1 million.

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