'Zombieland' Takes a Bite Off North American Box Office

Movie

Scoring the second highest-grossing start for zombie movies, this horror comedy denies 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' its third consecutive win at North American box office over the weekend.

October 5, 2009

AceShowbiz -

The undead has stormed into the North American box office as "Zombieland" debuted atop the chart. Being screened at around 3,900 screens at 3,036 sites over the weekend, the horror comedy from director Ruben Fleischer collected $24.7 million and took over the crowned first place from "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs".

Starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg as the two leading men, "Zombieland" has earned more than its $23.6 million budget. With the opening bow, the movie also scored a second place in the highest-grossing start record for zombie movies, behind Zack Snyder-directed 2004 horror remake, "Dawn of the Dead".

This movie also marked the biggest opening of Harrelson's career at the North American box office. Speaking of the attraction of the movie itself, Sony's head of distribution Rory Bruer said, "What really clicked was the humor of it. Truly, there were points in this movie that were so funny, I thought I was going to throw up. I'm serious. It really is a blast."

Slipping down to the second slot after two weeks of enjoying the #1 position was "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". With a 36.9|percent| drop in ticket sales, the CG movie revolving around a scientist's attempt to solve world hunger that goes awry hauled in $15.8 million in its third week. The additional number brought this 3-D film to a total of $81.5 million.

Editors' Pick

Disney's double feature of the "Toy Story" movies, "Toy Story/Toy Story 2 (3D)", started its limited two weeks engagement by landing third at the chart. The 3-D version of "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" pulled in $12.5 million. "I'm very pleased," said Disney distribution head Chuck Viane. "There's no question that kids who grew up with the movie were coming back to see it again."

"Surrogates" fell two places to fourth after it only managed to collect $7.2 million during its second weekend. Meanwhile, "The Invention of Lying" was another newcomer securing a slot at the top five. The Ricky Gervais-toplined comedy landed fifth at the chart with $7 million in its pocket.

Top Ten Movies at Box Office for October 2 - 4: