Despite all the wonderful buzz around The Muppets, it couldn't trump the box office behemoth that is the Twilight saga, which stayed on top on the charts this week, taking in another $42 million (in its second week), bringing its cume to a whopping $221+ million. Throw in the $152+ million it's made overseas, and Breaking Dawn Part 1 has grossed over $374 million across the globe… and I still haven't seen a single installment from the uber-successfull franchise; Not a single minute; I just can't bring myself to watch any of them, even for free. But my dollars obviously aren't having any effect; this is one of the highest grossing franchises in film history. 

Tower Heist, which I figured would be a $100 million property, has managed just $65 million after a month in theaters. 

I was surprised to see that The Help is still a top 20 film on the box office charts; it comes out on DVD/Blu-ray next week, but it's still making bank in theaters, after 16 weeks in release (or about 4 months). It's grossed almost $170 million domestically (close to $200 million worldwide). If I was told a year ago, around when the project was first announced, that The Help would do this well at the box office, I would have laughed. Consider it this year's The Blindside; Viola Davis, that Best Actress Oscar is probably yours; and don't be surprised if Octavia Spencer wins for Best Supporting Actress.

The rest of the story below (cume in parentheses):

1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 Sum. $42,000,000 ($221,300,000)

2 The Muppets BV $29,500,000 ($42,000,000) 

3 Happy Feet Two WB $13,400,000 ($43,773,000)

4 Arthur Christmas Sony $12,700,000  ($17,000,000)

5 Hugo Par. $11,350,000 ($15,380,000)

6 Jack and Jill Sony $10,300,000 ($57,417,000)

7 Immortals Rela. $8,800,000 ($68,632,000)

8 Puss in Boots P/DW $7,450,000 ($135,361,000)

9 Tower Heist Uni. $7,323,000 ($65,380,000)

10 The Descendants FoxS $7,200,000 ($10,741,000)