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The biggest difference between Die Hard 3 and Die Hard 4 is the reviews. Die Hard: With A Vengeance could only manage a 47% rating at RottenTomatoes, and if you are at all like me, felt it was the weak sister in what had been an truly exemplary franchise. According to the critics, Live Free or Die Hard brings the franchise most of the way back to its superlative status, as critics at RottenTomatoes honored this one with a 78% fresh rating. Users at the site are even happier with this product, as they have issued a 94% fresh rating. Lastly, for Bruce Willis, this is a much needed success. This his first live action, above-the-title, $30 million plus opening since 2000's Unbreakable, which opened to $30.3 million and also starred his Die Hard: With A Vengeance co-star Samuel L. Jackson.

Finishing well back in third after finishing on top last weekend is the $200 million comedy, Evan Almighty. The Bruce Almighty sequel had a rough second frame and certainly isn't getting what it needs to earn its production budget back domestically. Evan Almighty earned $15.1 million in its second weekend, and was off 52% from last weekend. For this one to earn $200 million, Evan would have needed a drop of about 20%. It does look like the Steve Carell flick may make it to $100 million (if it's very lucky), but when your film costs twice that amount, you have to do better. So far, the Universal release has earned $60.6 million.

1408 moves into fourth spot this weekend, as the John Cusack fright fest manages to keep its drop below 50%, which is saying something when dealing with a horror flick. 1408 earned $10.6 million in its second frame, and was off 49% from its opening frame. I saw this one on Tuesday night, and it is a movie that deserves excellent word-of-mouth. So far, 1408 from MGM and the Weinsteins has earned $40.4 million, not bad for a film that cost $25 million to make.

Finishing fifth is Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. News is not good (again) in the Fox camp of the Silver Surfer, as the comic book sequel earned $9 million and dropped 55%. The depreciation might be better than the 66% plummet it saw last weekend, but not by much. After opening to over $58 million, the Silver Surfer only has $114.8 million in the coffers so far, but can at least brag about getting to the $100 million mark. The cost for this was about $130 million, and should finish with about that much domestically.

Sixth spot goes to top ten stalwart Knocked Up, which is enjoying its fifth weekend in the top ten. The Judd Apatow comedy earned $7.4 million this weekend, and was off 32% compared to the previous frame. Knocked Up has now earned a fantastic $122.4 million, and has easily outgrossed The 40 Year-Old Virgin, which finished with about $107 million. Not only is Knocked Up one of the few unique summer films we've had so far, its also been a shrewd investment for Universal, as the price tag was only $30 million.

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