The teen horror remake film 'Prom Night' has scored big in the three-days weekend box office as it claimed the top spot and pushed reigning champion '21' aside.
- Apr 14, 2008
AceShowbiz - Screen Gems' teen horror thriller flick "Prom Night" proved to be the best on the North American box office this weekend as it debuted strongly at the number one slot. According to studio estimates, the remake of the 1980 slasher thriller movie pulled in approximately $22.7 million from 2,700 theaters during its opening three-days weekend which ended Sunday, April 13 and it also has beaten its strong competitor "Street Kings" as well as dethroned last week champion "21".
Regardless of the lack of reviews, the film starring Brittany Snow and Johnathon Schaech has managed to score big and became the best scoring horror film since the release of "Saw IV" in October 2007 which took in $31.7 million. By landing on the top spot, the film about high school teenagers who are terrorized by a sadistic killer on their prom night continued Sony Pictures' domination on the box office as the film marked the third weekend the distributor nailed the #1 spot following the success garnered by "21" in the last two weeks.
Commenting on the film's success, Rory Bruer, the head of distribution from Sony, reasoned, "Audiences today, they're so savvy in regards to what they want to see or don't want to see. Particularly a younger audience, they pretty much make up their own mind." On the same matter, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com Gitesh Pandya stated, "Horror film openings have gotten smaller and smaller this year as some fatigue has kicked in. But 'Prom Night' has an appealing premise, a recognizable title and a terrific marketing push that is exciting the core crowd."
Following "Prom" in the second place was "Kings". The Fox Searchlight Pictures' movie starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker grossed about $12 million in its debut weekend. By taking the runner-up position, the cop drama thriller has also pushed aside "21" from the top spot. Concerning "21", the Columbia Pictures' black jack drama slipped to the third place as the film gathered about $11 million for its third weekend and collected the total of about $62.3 million.
The fourth spot went to Abigail Breslin and Jodie Foster-starrer film "Nim's Island". Earning an estimated $9 million, the Fox-Walden family adventure film once again reigned over its competitor, sport comedy "Leatherheads" which fell down to the fifth place with about $6.2 million. The two films are then followed by Dr. Seuss' adaptation movie "Horton Hears a Who!". The 20th Century Fox's animation film featuring the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell brought in another $6 million to be added to its total cume of nearly $140 million.
Aside from "Prom" and "Kings", another newcomer landing spot in the top ten was "Smart People". The dramedy film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church is placed on the seventh place as it took in approximately $4.2 million. The eighth position was filled by DreamWorks' horror thriller "The Ruins" with $3.3 million. Rounding up the last two top ten slots were "Superhero Movie" and "Drillbit Taylor". The two comedy movies scored $3.1 million and $2.1 million respectively.
