Cloverfield is a monster hit. The low-budget creature feature earned 41-million dollars over the weekend, a record opening for January. The tale of a mysterious monster wreaking havoc on New York City bested the debut of the Star Wars special edition in 1997, which held the previous record for a January opening. The romantic comedy 27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl, was a distant second with 22-point-four-million dollars in its first weekend.
The weekend's other new wide release, the heist comedy Mad Money, landed in seventh with seven-point-seven-million dollars.
Last weekend's number-one movie, The Bucket List, dropped to third with 15-point-two-million bucks, followed by Juno with 10-point-three-million in fourth and National Treasure: Book of Secrets with eight-point-one-million in fifth. --James Aquilone
