An out-of-shape security guard this weekend succeeded in fighting off both vampires and werewolves, as Paul Blart: Mall Cop stayed top of the box office despite the challenge of newcomer Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.
Paul Blart took $21.5m over the weekend, a mere 32% drop on its opening last week, while Rise of the Lycans was just behind with $20.7m - the lowest opening for the franchise, but not bad considering that star Kate Beckinsale and director Len Wiseman had both left before this one.
Gran Torino stayed at number 3 with a tiny 27% drop to $16m, and is now within inches of being Clint Eastwood's highest grossing film ever as either actor or director - which, we're guessing, would just make his day. Punk. Also sliding a mere 27% in fourth place was Hotel for Dogs, which finished just ahead of Slumdog Millionaire, leaping up the charts on the back of its Oscar boost to $10.5m and an 80% increase in box office.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button also saw a slight rise in its box office after landing 13 Oscar nominations on Thursday, while other Oscar nominees like Revolutionary Road, The Reader, Frost/Nixon and Milk saw big increases in their takings.