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This article reprinted with kind permission of Awards Circuit, and originally linked at The Awards Circuit News Blog

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

With a year-long build and teasers regarding what secret lies within the film, “Super 8″ opened #1 at the box office with a less-than-estimated $35.5 million take. While critics had a largely favorable, if not somewhat tempered reaction to the film, audiences reportedly loved the film and reports show that the film could have strong word-of-mouth heading into its first full week and second weekend.

Estimates and expectations for the film were all over the board with “Super 8″. On the one hand, the start was a disappointment when compared to director J.J. Abrams’ two previous films, 2006′s “Mission: Impossible III” (opened at 47.7 million) and 2009′s “Star Trek” (opened at $75.2 million). “Super 8″ was not a franchise or relaunch and thus, served as Abrams’ first foray into wholly original content. And yet, even describing “Super 8″ has completely or wholly original will generate guffaws from those who claim the film is too much of a copy of co-producer Steven Spielberg’s own directorial and writing efforts of the past; namely, “E.T.”, “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”, and “The Goonies”.

Confounding pundits further was the more muted viral efforts of Paramount in promoting the film. Previously, with Abrams’ TV creation “Lost” and the Abrams-produced feature “Cloverfield”, several curiously named websites appeared with clues, anecdotes, and labyrinthine games and paths for fans and those interested to follow, send around, discuss, and debate. Short of wondering if there was in fact a monster, or monsters, or what it or they looked like, the only real non-trailered promotion for the film came in the form of a short film, truncated in the finished product, which shows archived government footage of a scientist attempting to feed something in a darkened cage. Near the end of the footage, one giant arm of a creature swoops down and takes the scientist high into the air.

All of this to say that Paramount reportedly was very satisfied with the opening weekend and feel the film is positioned to withstand the oncoming “Green Lantern” and “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” this weekend, and then will have a strong foothold in the market to hold off an expected huge opening for Pixar’s “Cars 2″. Then, with the arrival of “Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon” on Wednesday, June 29, Paramount feels that both “Transformers” and “Super 8″ will have cemented themselves as huge hits with legs to carry the studio and audiences through to July 22, when “Captain America” arrives.

A children’s adaptation of a popular book series whimpers into theaters, Woody Allen makes history again, and huge attendance continued for “The Tree Of Life”. Plus, a handful of indies look to make their mark. All of this and the Weekend Breakdown after the cut!

Read more on Box Office Report: June 10-12, 2011…