Mall Farce Dethrones Clint

Clint Eastwood’s reign atop the box office was a short one. His Gran Torino dropped to second place with $22.2 million this weekend, edged out by comedian Kevin James’ low-budget Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which follows the travails of a New Jersey mall security guard. James’ first effort anchoring a feature film took in $33.8 million, stunning analysts. Two other new entries, horror flick My Bloody Valentine 3D and rap biopic Notorious, opened at third and fourth places, earning $21.9 million and $21.5 million, respectively. Meanwhile, Oscar hopeful Slumdog Millionaire got a big boost from all its Golden Globe wins, surging 56 percent to take in $5.9 million and land at No. 10. Made for $15 million, the film has taken in $42.7 million so far.