He’s Just Not That Into You, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johannsen, and several other thirtysomething Hollywood luminaries, led the U.S. box office during its first weekend of release, taking in $27.5 million. That’s a decent though not spectacular number, and its $7 million above what industry analysts had expected it to bring in.

That’s a big success for Aniston, then, and I have to think that it’s partly a result of audiences’ affection for Marley and Me, in which Aniston costarred. (Side note: I have an article on Marley and Me coming out in a journal in a little while and will point TAC readers to it when it appears.)

Sustaining its first-week popularity in its second weekend of release, the excellent suspenser Taken,  starring Liam Neeson (who gives an excellent performance) brought in $20.3 million over the three-day period.

Coraline, the animated film came in third with an unexpectedly strong $16.3 million, while the Steve Martin slapstick comedy The Pink Panther 2 came in fourth with just $12 milion—$6 million less than expected. And Paul Blart: Mall Cop, in fifth place, approached $100 million in total U.S. ticket sales so far.

The little Indian romance that could, Slumdog Millionaire, remained in the top ten, at number 7.

—S. T. Karnick