DreamWorks-Paramount’s comedy remake The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller failed to open as well as expected and had to make do with second place behind last weekend’s champion The Game Plan.

Buena Vista’s family comedy stayed on top on an estimated $16.3m that raised the tally after two weekends to $42.8m.

The Heartbreak Kid, which marks Stiller’s first film with The Farrelly Brothers since There’s Something About Mary in 1998, opened on a highly disappointing $14m, way below the $20m-plus debut executives had predicted.

This was the lowest release of the year so far for a DreamWorks film, and an inauspicious start for the new DreamWorks-Paramount releasing banner.

Universal’s The Kingdom fell one place to third on $9.3m for $31.4m after two weekends, while Sony’s zombie action sequel Resident Evil:Extinction also fell one place to fourth on $4.3m for $43.5m after three.

The only other new releases were Fox/Walden’s family adventure The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising in fifth place on a lackluster $3.7m, and Sony’s dance drama Feel The Noise which was produced by Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions in seventh on a lowly $3.4m.

Next weekend’s wide releases are: Lionsgate’s drama Why Did I Get Married’ from Tyler Perry starring Tyler Perry and Janet Jackson; Sony’s crime drama We Own The Night with Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg; and Universal’s historical drama Elizabeth: The Golden Age with Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen. Warner Bros’ legal thriller Michael Clayton with George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton expands wide.

Estimated Top 10 North America Oct 5-7, 2007
Film (Dist)/Int’l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date
1 (1) The Game Plan (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $16.3m $42.8m
2 (-) The Heartbreak Kid (DreamWorks-Paramount) PPI $14m -
3 (2) The Kingdom (Universal) UPI $9.3m $31.4m
4 (3) Resident Evil: Extinction (Sony) SPRI $4.3m $43.5m
5 (-) The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (Fox/Walden) Fox Int’l $3.7m -
6 (4) Good Luck Chuck (Lionsgate) SPRI $3.5m $29.1m
7 (-) Feel The Noise (Sony BMG) SPRI $3.4m -
8 (5) 3:10 To Yuma (Lionsgate) Magnetik $3m $48.6m
9 (6) The Brave One (Warner Bros) WBPI $2.3m $34.3m
10 (7) Mr Woodcock (New Line) NLI $2m $22.3m

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