Jessica Biel prancing about in her bra and underwear helped the desperately unfunny I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry claim the top spot at the box office this past weekend, ringing up $34.8 million on 4,400 screens, a very solid number but one still at the bottom end of the spectrum for a live action Adam Sandler comedy bowing at more than 3,000 theaters. In its second week of release, the fifth installment of the Harry Potter franchise pulled in another $32 million at the box office, perhaps somewhat dampened by the fact that everyone was out buying the final tome in the best-selling series.
Third-place finisher Hairspray, meanwhile, was perhaps the week’s real long-legged winner, grossing $27.8 million at just over 3,100 venues; it’s a movie that looks to have the sort of positive word-of-mouth that translates to real staying power. Down 45 percent in fourth place, Transformers raked in another $20-plus million, bringing its three-week total to just over $265 million. Ratatouille rounded out the top five with an estimated $11 million, while Live Free or Die Hard dropped only 35 percent to an estimated $7.3 million, good for a cumulative haul of $116.5 million in 26 days.