When the final numbers were tallied on Monday, something exciting happened at the top of the charts.  After a very close race, Juno surpassed I Am Legend for the second place finish.  (National Treasure was tops for its third week in a row.)  Already in its fifth week, the comedic charmer continued its steady climb up the box office ladder.  After gaining five spots last week, Juno rose another two spots this weekend.  (A wider release contributed to this feat.)  If the movie continues at its current pace, it is expected to be the most successful film from Fox Searchlight.  Sideways grossed $71.5 million while last year’s darling, Little Miss Sunshine, earned $59.9 million.

Meanwhile, another praised film is slowly making an ascent in its fifth week.  Atonement, starring ribby Keira Knightley and James McAvoy (the man who has replaced Ewan McGregor), made its first entry into the Top Ten.  Although the Golden Globe-nominated drama is only being seen in about 1/6 of the theaters Treasure is in, Atonement had a per screen average of $8687.  In comparison, the Nicolas Cage film only had a $5332 median.

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Disney, $20,062,684 (avg. $5332)
2. Juno, Fox Searchlight, $15,860,744 (avg. $8239)
3. I Am Legend, Warner Bros., $15,717,458 (avg. $4308)
4. Alvin and the Chipmunks, 20th Century Fox, $15,546,125 (avg. $4490)
5. One Missed Call, Warner Bros., $12,511,473 (avg. $5585)
6. Charlie Wilson’s War, Universal, $8,106,250 (avg. $3125)
7. P.S. I Love You, Warner Bros., $7,834,467 (avg. $3170)
8. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Sony, $6,230,489 (avg. $2243)
9. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dreamworks/WB, $5,536,538 (avg. $4432)
10. Atonement, Focus Features, $5,064,577 (avg. $8687)

(You can review last week’s numbers here.)