Tops at the Box Office: 'Underworld: Awakening' takes a bite out of #1; 'Red Tails' soars

1. Underworld: Awakening- $25.4M
Memo from the creators of the Underworld franchise to critics: "Suck it". Despite being ripped to shreds by critics through the course of four movies, the B-grade vampire flicks continue to make some serious coin. Even the last film, which was a prequel without series star Kate Beckinsale, managed a $20M opening weekend. It was still the lowest of the series by far, but now that Beckinsale is back in what is clearly her defining role, business appears to be booming again. Awakening opened with the second highest total in the series' history, and the best since 2006's Underworld: Evolution. This one had the added advantage of bloated 3D ticket prices, which may help catapult it over that film's $111M final tally. Obviously, these aren't going anywhere, so expect to see Beckinsale back in her tight leather corset again in a year or so.
2. Red Tails- $19.1M
Oh hey! There's a future for African-American cinema after all! Thanks, George Lucas! *snort* Anyway, after spending about $70M of his own money on his Tuskegee Airmen video game film, Lucas has to be happy with these results. Even if the numbers aren't exactly mind blowing, it proved to have been loved by audiences who gave it a stunning "A" Cinema Score, while critics generally shot it down.
3. Contraband- $12.2M/$46.1M
4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close-  $10.5M/$11.2M
After more than a month in theaters, the weepy 9/11 drama starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock finally expands nationally, but considering it's starpower and subject matter it didn't exactly catch fire.  It's opening is slightly less than what United 93 did in 2006, but considerably less than World Trade Center which came out that same year.
5. Haywire- $9M
Really, America? So...Red Tails and Underworld 4 get "A" Cinema Scores and dominate the box office, but a well crafted action pic by a master like Steven Soderbegh languishes in 5th? And gets a "D+" from audiences? Frustrating. Reminds me of when Drive came out last year and audiences whined that it was too slow. Fortunately, expectations were low on this one, despite the powerhouse cast. TV spots and trailers put the spotlight on MMA star Gina Carano, who nobody that doesn't understand what a Fujiwara armbar is will recognize.
6. Beauty and the Beast 3D- $8.56M/$33.4M
7. Joyful Noise-  $6.08M/$21.9M
8. Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol-  $5.54M/$197M
9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows-$4.8M/$179M
10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-  $3.75M/$94.8M