Box office report for the weekend of Aug. 28-30
It was a battle of horror sequels at the box office over the weekend, and “The Final Destination” emerged victorious.
“The Final Destination” opened as the No. 1 movie with $28.3 million, according to the Associated Press. The Warner Bros. release is the latest installment in a film franchise about people who stalked by death after a premonition saves them from their destined doom.
The weekend’s other horror sequel, Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II,” made the No. 3 spot with $17.4 million. It was the second film in Zombie’s update of the slasher franchise about the psychopathic Michael Myers. The sequel took in more than its $15 million production budget over opening weekend, according to the AP.
“The Final Destination” took over the top spot from Quentin Tarantino’s excellent World War II saga “Inglourious Basterds,” which slipped to second place with $20 million. The Weinstein Co. release raised its total to $73.8 million after 10 days in theaters, according to the AP.
It was a good weekend for the Weinsteins, who also released “Halloween II.”
The weekend’s other new wide release, Focus Features’ music romp “Taking Woodstock,” opened weakly in the No. 9 spot with $3.7 million. Directed by Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”), “Taking Woodstock” is a nostalgic look behind the scenes at the huge landmark 1969 rock concert.
Though Hollywood’s summer season historically does not end until Labor Day, the holiday comes late this year, adding an extra week to the movie schedule and skewing comparisons to past summers.
Hollywood.com box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian is using this Monday to mark the end of the season, since this weekend corresponded to Labor Day weekend last year. Dergarabedian estimated that through Monday, Hollywood will have taken in $4.26 billion, 1.5 percent ahead of the revenue record the industry set in summer 2008.
While receipts ran at an all-time high, attendance was off 2.2 percent compared with last summer factoring in this year’s higher ticket prices, he told the AP. Hollywood finished with an unusually strong lineup in August, typically a quiet time at the box office.
“August gave us the record,” Dergarabedian told the AP. “Virtually every summer crosses the finish line with a whimper. This year, we crossed with a bang.”
Here is the top 10 at the weekend box office, from the AP:
1. “The Final Destination,” $28.3 million.
2. “Inglourious Basterds,” $20 million.
3. “Halloween II,” $17.4 million.
4. “District 9,” $10.7 million.
5. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” $8 million.
6. “Julie & Julia,” $7.4 million.
7. “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” $6.7 million.
8. “Shorts,” $4.9 million.
9. “Taking Woodstock,” $3.7 million.
10. “G-Force,” $2.8 million.
-BAM
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