Although Sylvester Stallone was hoping to end the Rambo series on an up note, it appears the actor/writer/director will just have to settle for second place.  Many had expected the fourth installment would come away with the weekend’s spoils, unfortunately the aging action hero was overpowered by a group of toga-clad warriors.

It should be said though that Meet the Spartans had an extremely narrow victory.  The spoof of 2007’s 300 edged out the action flick by just $300,000.  But a win is still a win, right?  The satire also had the best per screen average of any movie in the Top Ten ($7104).

Other notable mentions from this weekend:

• Cloverfield - last week’s #1 - dropped a whopping three spaces this week.  Although some chart shifting was expected, the record holder’s placement behind 27 Dresses was still a bit surprising.  Could it be that people were afraid of succumbing to motion sickness?

• Additional theaters and awards season buzz helped position There Will Be Blood into the Top 10.  Daniel Day-Lewis’ recent SAG Award should help the film maintain its momentum this coming weekend.

• Critical-gem Juno continued to make Fox Searchlight proud.  The Oscar-nominated film officially crossed the $100 million mark thanks to a 7th place finish.

1. Meet the Spartans, 20th Century Fox, $18,505,530 (avg. $7104)
2. Rambo, Lionsgate, $18,203,876 (avg. $6617)
3. 27 Dresses, 20th Century Fox, $13,360,535 (avg. $4346)
4. Cloverfield, Paramount, $12,712,134 (avg. $3727)
5. Untraceable, Sony, $11,354,069 (avg. $4795)
6. The Bucket List, Warner Bros., $10,532,406 (avg. $3613)
7. Juno, Fox Searchlight, $10,151,100 (avg. $4184)
8. National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Disney, $4,916,131 (avg. $2282)
9. There Will Be Blood, Paramount Vantage, $4,869,383 (avg. $5502)
10. Mad Money, Overture Films, $4,578,394 (avg. $1854)

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