As to be expected Where the Wild Things are dominated the box office this weekend. There was little doubt that this adorable and moving childrens movie would have people flocking to the theaters. But what may be surprising is that Law Abiding Citizen took second place. This movie was definitely one for the guys with plenty action and crime drama to go around, but over all the plot just seemed too unrealistic to strike a chord with viewers…but the box office proved that theory wrong. Paranormal Activity continues to do well in the box office and is considered to be one of the scariest and most realistic ghost movies you’ll see this year and maybe even any year, and for an independent film that is certainly high praise. Couples Retreat dropped to fourth this week but still made a good return at the box office perhaps because it remains the token chick flick/date movie. The top five is rounded out by The Stepfather. This weekend may have been the first time in quite a while that all of the opening movies appeared in the top five. Perhaps this is a sign of good things to come.
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count / Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | N | Where the Wild Things Are | WB | $32,695,407 | – | 3,735 | – | $8,754 | $32,695,407 | $100 | 1 |
| 2 | N | Law Abiding Citizen | Over. | $21,039,502 | – | 2,890 | – | $7,280 | $21,039,502 | $50 | 1 |
| 3 | 4 | Paranormal Activity | Par. | $19,617,650 | +148.3% | 760 | +600 | $25,813 | $33,171,743 | $0.015 | 4 |
| 4 | 1 | Couples Retreat | Uni. | $17,227,390 | -49.8% | 3,009 | +9 | $5,725 | $62,617,735 | $70 | 2 |
| 5 | N | The Stepfather (2009) | SGem | $11,581,586 | – | 2,734 | – | $4,236 | $11,581,586 | $20 | 1 |
| 6 | 3 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Sony | $8,017,871 | -30.4% | 3,037 | +45 | $2,640 | $108,201,645 | $100 | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Zombieland | Sony | $7,616,939 | -48.5% | 3,171 | +133 | $2,402 | $60,640,317 | $23.6 | 3 |
| 8 | 5 | Toy Story / Toy Story 2 (3D) | BV | $3,016,580 | -61.2% | 1,489 | -263 | $2,026 | $28,554,678 | – | 3 |
| 9 | 6 | Surrogates | BV | $1,917,315 | -55.1% | 2,326 | -666 | $824 | $36,327,650 | $80 | 4 |
| 10 | 7 | The Invention of Lying | WB | $1,907,398 | -42.9% | 1,624 | -119 | $1,175 | $15,497,164 | $18.5 | 3 |
| 11 | 8 | Whip It | FoxS | $1,507,379 | -46.7% | 1,482 | -256 | $1,017 | $11,360,796 | $15 | 3 |
| 12 | 9 | Capitalism: A Love Story | Over. | $1,455,510 | -44.7% | 991 | -4 | $1,469 | $11,622,433 | – | 4 |
Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com