The Will Ferrell NASCAR comedy, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY, kept its box office lead for the weekend ended Aug. 13, 2006. The Sony release (with vfx from Digital Dimension) scored $22.1M with a two-week cume of $90.3M. Debuting in second and third were Buena Vista’s STEP UP, with $20.6M, and Paramount’s WORLD TRADE CENTER (with vfx from Double Negative and Animal Logic) with $18.7M for a five-day cume of $26.5M. The 3D-animated BARNYARD from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and director Steve Oedekerk’s O Ent., dropped to fourth place $9.7M for a two-week cume of $33.7M. Dimension’s PULSE bowed in the fifth spot with $8.2M.

Following in sixth was Disney’s PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST (with vfx support from ILM), which racked up another $7.2M for an industry leading cume this year of $392.4M. Universal’s MIAMI VICE (vfx by EntityFX, Illusion Arts and Eden FX) settled for seventh with $4.7M and $55.2M. THE DESCENT from Lionsgate followed in eighth with $4.6M and $17.5M. Sony/Revolution’s ZOOM (with vfx by Digital Domain) debuted in ninth with $4.5M. Sony’s all-CG MONSTER HOUSE (by way of Sony Pictures Imageworks) finished 10th with $3.2M and a cume of $63.6M. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.