Order Of The Phoenix rises at the US box office

You know how this starts - new Harry Potter release, lots of money earned at the box office, etc, etc. But while Potter’s new outing didn’t quick snatch records for the weekend, opening on Wednesday helped ensure it still arrived with a healthy take. The Order Of The Phoenix made $77.4 million over the weekend, with a total of $140 million so far.

Heading into its second weekend, the juggernaut of Transformers hit the brakes a little, taking in $36 million and bringing its total so far to a hefty $222.9 million. And at third, Ratatouille is still earning well, adding $18 million to its coffers, for a running total of $143 million. Meanwhile, leaving the top four unchanged, Die Hard 4.0 sat pretty in fourth, smashing past $100 million to nab $102.9 million to date.

The surprise of the week was License To Wed, with the dodgy Robin Williams comedy proving that RV was no fluke, and these days the comedian can seemingly rescue even the worst movies. With $7.4 million this weekend and $30 million to date, License managed to swap places with 1408. But the producers of the John Cusack horror won’t be too worried, it still managed to chill into staying at sixth, making $5 million for the weekend.

That’s much better news than the financial picture still awaiting the Evan Almighty team, as the film starts to drift from the charts, landing at seventh this week with just $88 million earned in its run. Carell and co must be hoping that the DVD will be huge – but we doubt they should be holding their collective breath…

Still popping champagne corks is Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen of Knocked Up, which dropped to eighth, but is still earning after seven weeks in the charts. It’s now up to $138 million, more than Apatow’s The 40-Year-Old made while it was still in cinemas, and puts its worldwide total of $177 million within easy reach once Knocked Up births a DVD.

And so to the bottom of the charts, where Sicko’s not quite as healthy as Fahrenheit 9/11, but still managing to draw in the cash despite a much more limited release. It has $15.8 million in its piggy bank now, while at 10th, Ocean’s Thirteen prepares to depart from the charts with $1.9 million this weekend and $112 million so far.