Paul Blart Saves Mall, Wins Weekend Box Office

Kevin James comedy PAUL BLART: MALL COP won the box office with $39.2M for Sony in its opening holiday weekend. The box office as a whole was up 31 percent over last year's Martin Luther King, Jr. four-day weekend (per VARIETY).

GRAN TORINO (Warner Bros.) moved down one spot to second with $25.6M and in six weeks has a cume of $76.6M. Third went to opener MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D, the widest 3-D opening yet in 2,534 screens, making $24.1M for Lionsgate.

Bio pic NOTORIOUS from Fox Searchlight (vfx by Brainstorm Digital and Mechanism Digital) opened in fourth, making $23.4M -- also ahead of predictions with a high $14,282 per screen average. Fifth place went to family-friendly opener HOTEL FOR DOGS (Paramount/DreamWorks, vfx from Animal Makers and Proof) with $22.9M.

Sixth place went to BRIDE WARS (vfx from Custom Film Effects) with $13.9M, down from second place last week and with a total cume of $39.7M for Fox. Horror flick THE UNBORN (Universal, vfx from Asylum VFX) placed seventh with $10.54M and $33.8M in two weeks.

Expanding wide in its third week in release, DEFIANCE (Paramount Vantage) jumped up from 35th to eighth place with $10.51M and a gross of $10.85M. The WWII film has vfx by Flash Film Works.

Fox's MARLEY & ME (vfx by At The Post, LOOK! Effects and Lola Visual Effects) came in ninth with $7.5M and $133.9M over four weeks. And in tenth place, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE took advantage of Golden Globe wins for a weekend haul of $7.02M in 582 theaters and a 10-week total of $43.9M.

In animated features, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX (Universal) made $1.026M and in five weeks has done $49.2M. Paramount/DreamWorks Animation's MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA brought in $687,452 and $178.25M in 11 weeks.

Disney's BOLT did $489,735 and a total cume of $112.6M in nine weeks in release. Lauded animated documentary WALTZ WITH BASHIR did $97,628 in nine theaters and a total of $551,146 in four weeks.

Box office information from BoxOfficeMojo.com.