If the fiasco on Wall Street wasn’t enough to convince you that the world as you know it is coming to an end, I have the proverbial straw you’ve been looking for:

Beverly Hills Chihuahua IS NUMBER ONE AT THE BOX OFFICE. I repeat: Beverly Hills Chihuahua IS NUMBER ONE AT THE BOX OFFICE. Jamie Lee Curtis is laughing all the way to the bank.

Eagle Eye held on, dropping just one spot to number two.

The low-budget Sony pic Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, debuted at number three. It took in $12 million, just shy of its $13 million price tag.

Last week’s number two film, Nights in Rodanthe, hung on to number four.

“Appaloosa,” starring “A History of Violence” alums Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen, ended its third week at number five. Despite mixed reviews, I still want to see it. Maybe because I am in love with Viggo Mortensen, but maybe because it just looks good? [ED NOTE-Viggo is the hotness!]

Interestingly, Bill Maher’s new flick, Religulous, came in at a very respectable number ten, taking $3.5 million over the weekend, but in an ironic twist, Fireproof, the Christian film starring Kirk Cameron, continued to fair respectively at the BO. The New York Times calls the former a “healthy marriage of faith and film-making.” I guess that would make Maher’s film a dysfunctional one?)

It has been announced that Michael Douglas will receive the AFI’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” in June. Was anyone else completely unaware that he produced One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest (and Flatliners?!?!)? My image of him is greatly burnished having learned that. Still, though, if there is a Lifetime Achievement Award due, it should probably go to his plastic surgeon. Yikes. (Just kidding, Mr. President. You know I love you.)

Spielberg and Geffen have left the building! They, along with exec Stacey Stiner, have officially severed ties with Paramount, whose parent company Viacom bought DreamWorks SKG three years ago. Spielberg and Stiner are taking some as-yet-unnamed Paramount flicks with them to a new company. Geffen’s plans are under works. (BTW, Katzenberg, the third initial of DreamWorks SKG, will remain at the helm of DreamWorks Animation Studios, which is traded separately.)

It’s hard to talk about the BO numbers and high-powered execs without noting that movie-news staple Variety is leading with the headline “Wall Street Takes Another Tumble.” Historically, movie attendance has risen during times of economic crisis, primarily because we’d rather see someone’s troubles resolved in 100 minutes than think about our own, I suspect, but while attendance, and its helpful friend, box office returns, will likely remain strong, smaller, more credit-dependent production houses will inevitably face struggles in the months ahead, as it becomes more and more difficult to secure financing. Stay tuned for the M&A’s to come…