“Tron” helps light up the box office

Although $44 million is far from ideal opening numbers when you have this much at stake, Disney execs can rest easier knowing that “Tron: Legacy” wasn’t a flop. The sci-fi adventure was the uncontested first-place finisher this weekend, beating out second-place finisher “Yogi Bear” by nearly $30 million.

“Yogi Bear” proved to not be all that smarter than your average talking animal movie. $16.4 million hardly holds a candle to “Alvin and the Chipmunks.”

1. Tron: Legacy – $44 M (weekend) … $44 M (gross)
2. Yogi Bear – $16.4 M … $16.4 M
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – $12.3 M … $42.7 M
4. The Fighter – $12.1 M … $12.5 M
5. Tangled – $8.7 M  … $127.9 M
6. The Tourist – $8.5 M … $30.6 M
7. Black Swan – $8.3 M … $15.7 M
8. How Do You Know – $7.4 M … $7.4 M
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 – $5 M … $265.7 M
10. Unstoppable – $1.8 M … $77.3 M

“How Do You Know,” the romantic comedy from James L. Brooks, earned just $7.4 million, an indication that the rest of the titular question reads ” … When You’re a Flop?” Reviews were scathing and, unfortunately, it look as if Brooks is not in touch with a modern audience as he once was.

Expanding Oscar contenders “The Fighter” and “Black Swan” performed admirably, with the former earning a spot in the top five with $12.1 million, a strong opening for any drama.

The box office went up more than 50 percent from last week.