By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Sony Screen Gems, Variety
Lakeview Terrace
So Samuel L. Jackson has still got some pull after all. Taking the role of neighborhood creep in Lakeview Terrace, Mr. Jackson helped give Focus Features' thriller the number one spot over the weekend.
Box Office (Police) Chief: Lakeview Terrace
Not that achieving the number one spot was hard, considering that, like our recent Dow Jones numbers, the box office has had some major ups and downs over the past month.
Lakeview Terrace easily came in at numero uno with $15.6 million during its opening bow. Burn After Reading was the only film that offered up any competition with $11.3 million in it second weekend. The Coen brothers' comedy declined a respectable 41% from its opening.
After these two films there isn't much to talk about. Both experiencing wide releases this weekend, Lionsgate's My Best Friend's Girl and MGM's Igor failed to break $20 million combined. My Best Friend's Girl, another attempt by Dane Cook for a R-rated hit, fell short of expectations with $8.3 million. While CG-animated movies are usually popular, Igor failed to draw in the families and instead earned a miniscule $8 million.
The true disappointment has to be Ghost Town. Starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni, the film only managed to come in at number eight during its opening bow with $5.2 million. Like salt on the wound, DreamWorks has to be wondering how the best reviewed film of the weekend failed to keep pace.
Thanks to low performances by everything but the top two films, the overall box office was down roughly 5% from the same frame last year.
Lakeview Terrace 
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