District 9, which cost $30 million to make, earned the top spot at the box office last weekend with $37 million.  Here’s the story behind this surprise hit and most-tweeted topic on Friday (la dee da) via Nikke Finke:

District 9 director Neill Blomkamp was supposed to be Peter Jackson’s helmer on Halo, which went down in flames. But Peter and his partner Fran Walsh kept Neill in New Zealand to develop his short film, Alive In Joburg. Jackson then turned it into a hard-cover faux graphic novel. That book went to Peter’s longtime manager Ken Kamins to arrange financing and set it up as a film. Ken made the decision to go indie, [...].  The result is not just another Amy Pascal pic starring Adam or Will but, according to the 88% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, an imaginative, creative, cutting-edge pic made outside the studio system.

That’s right.  Another graphic-novel-turned-movie.  Oh well, at least it wasn’t a gum wrapper or a board game.

G.I. Joe, predictably dropped about 60% in its second week to take the #2 spot with $22.5 million.  The Time Traveler’s Wife took third place with a disappointing $19.2 million weekend (the studio expected at least $25 million).

Among the other films opening last weekend, The Goods opened at #6 with $5.35 million.  Bandslam took 13th place with $2.25 million, earning only $1,061 per screen (ha ha).   Ponyo opened at #9 with $3.5 million.  It Might Get Loud made $14,429 per screen in limited release.  (full top 10 below)

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Opening this weekend:

District 9 (final trailer above) — South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp’s critically-acclaimed faux-documentary about alien visitors being segregated to an alien ghetto by distrusting humans.  It’s a clever metaphor about race relations, like when I throw rocks at my Estonian neighbors.
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   If you understand the right side of this picture, you’re an O.G. Filmdrunkard.

Rachel McAdams was nice enough to go on The Daily Show last night and give away all the major plot points of The Time Traveler’s Wife, which opens today.  The video is inside.  Since the video only plays in the U.S., I’ll also type the spoilers out for you non-American drunkards out there in Djibouti and whatnot.

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(This is how Ryan Gosling 69s)

In The Time Traveler’s Wife, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams meet at a bar, hook up a few times, catch a few dinners and a few flicks, and eventually decide they aren’t going to do any better than each other.  So they move in together, get married, have kids, and settle into a life of alternately boring and fulfilling mediocrity.  Ha, just kidding, they find true love, but it’s complicated because he’s unstuck in time ;-(

(trailer below)

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JustJared has this and more pictures of Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams from the set of The Time Traveler’s Wife.  Rachel McAdams still won’t return my calls (well, catcalls, really).  Prude bitch.

In the film, Chicago librarian Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) has a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel when he is stressed. Though he disappears often for long periods of time, he tries to build a romantic relationship with artist Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams). Ron Livingston plays Gomez, the librarian’s friend and a liberal attorney who works for nonprofit organizations.

Time travel, eh?  Yes, that always complicates things. I tried to use a similar excuse last time I picked my girlfriend up from middle school, but I don’t think the cop was buying it.  If I’m guilty of anything, it’s loving too much.  Too much too soon.   

PS – My favorite JustJared user comment was, "Eric Bana is one FINE looking man! HOT – he sizzles!!!!!!!!!"  Jesus, what is it about stupid people and exclamation points?  "OMG, I just graduated from ITT Tech!!!!!!!!!!  Now I read at a 6th grade levil!!!! Somebody throw me a party LOL!1!1!!!"