“Wall-E” rode stellar reviews to a $62.5 million opening weekend and the #1 spot at the box office. The surprise of the weekend was the success of “Wanted,” which exceeded expectations critically and commercially, taking in $51 million. “Get Smart” fell to No. 3, and “Kung Fu Panda,” (No. 4) continues to beat out “The Incredible Hulk,” (No. 5,) despite having been released a week earlier.
Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. (Yeah, we already knew that.) Lil Wayne dropped down to No. 2, while the “Camp Rock” soundtrack, featuring tween sensations the Jonas Brothers opened at No. 3. Probably the biggest surprise of the week was Rihanna’s 117-spot jump, from No. 124 to No. 7, due to the success of her single “Take A Bow.”
Finally, something kind of different on the New York Times fiction list. Janet Evanovich’s latest book in the Stephanie Plum series, “Fearless Fourteen,” is No. 1, with James Patterson’s “Sail” falling to No. 2. On the non-fiction list, David Sedaris still rules. Other than that, it’s the usual suspects: Zakaria (America is destined to fall!), McClellan, and Barbara Walters, waxing rhapsodic on the “special men in [her] life.” Um, ew.