JUNO Surges Past $100M Mark at Box Office

Read about it at Variety.com:

Oscar nods translated into a B.O. bump, as four of the five best picture contenders saw their returns grow the weekend after nominations were announced.

"There Will Be Blood," "No Country For Old Men," and "Michael Clayton" all expanded their engagements and saw auds respond to the opportunity, while "Juno" saw receipts climb while losing screens. Only "Atonement" experienced a modest decline, despite increasing its number of screens.

"Juno" continued its amazing run by upping its gross 3% to $10.3 million, even though was at 108 fewer locations than last weekend. Fox Searchlight's quirky comedy is now the only 2007 indie to open in limited release and advance past the $100 million cume mark.

JUNO the Light-Hearted Oscar Nom Exception

From The Chicago Tribune:

"Atonement," "Juno," "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" -- are, variously, independently financed projects, released under the major studios' specialty division banners...

To some tastes -- most, probably -- this year's best picture nominees represent four degrees of forbidding severity plus one degree of levity. With the exception of "Juno," the archly stylized and very savvy comedy about a brash, preggers 16-year-old, the nominees represent aspects of a cruel world...

There's another common theme in the best picture nominees this year. Each of the five was made for $30 million or less. That's one half or even one third the cost of a typical studio venture.

"Juno's" whopping profit margin is secure. "No Country" will make a nice little stash for itself, no matter what happens Oscar night (if there is an Oscar night, given the uncertainties caused by the Writers Guild of America strike). "Atonement" will make a profit. "Michael Clayton," maybe. "There Will Be Blood," maybe not, but it's such a success d'estime, it will only help writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's career.

JUNO Burger Phones Are the Rage...

From Defamer:

Although Juno's biggest B.O. weekends appear to be in the rearview mirror, that doesn't mean that America's appetite for all things Juno has fully subsided.

In addition to the soundtrack's strong performance (currently #2 on the Billboard charts), there appears to be overwhelming demand on the black markets for Hamburger Phones! Or, rather, overwhelming supply. There are currently over 50 listings on eBay for hamburger phones, some of which utilize a hand-crafted MS Paint montage that includes Diablo "Call Me Brook" Cody's now-famous shot of her talking on her very own Hamburger Phone.

With that in mind, we're using all of the money in the Defamer piggy bank to corner the market on orange Tic-Tacs. You know, just in case the Juno ancillary markets continue to grow.

JUNO Soundtrack: The #1 Album On the Billboard Music Charts

From Billboard.com:

"Juno" Unseats Keys From Atop Album Chart

The Rhino soundtrack to "Juno" becomes the label's first No. 1 album on The Billboard 200, moving up 2-1 with a 13% increase to 65,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's the first film soundtrack to top the chart since last year's "Dreamgirls" and the first from an Academy Award best picture nominee since "Titanic" reached the summit on Jan. 24, 1998.