Don't worry about Taken. It's already closing in on $80 million after three weekends in the U.S. and has taken in close to that amount internationally. They are some rumbles about a sequel. Not bad for a French produced medium budget thriller.
--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@...> wrote: > > Huh? All the reviews I read said that this is a dull movie, even by its own kill-by-the-numbers standards. Is this box office due to a bunch of young folk who simply never saw the original? It's a bit distressing to see this and "Mall Cop" doing so much better than "Taken" and "The International". > > Of course, it could be worse: Will Smith could star in a remake of Halloween! Course, it'd probably make over one hundred million the first weekend, right Rave? > > ************************* > > > > > > LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than to watch college kids get slaughtered in a remake of " Friday the 13th "? The revival of the venerable slasher franchise easily took the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend, setting a new record for a horror opening with estimated sales of $42.2 million, distributor Warner Bros . Pictures said on Sunday. > > > > > The old mark was held by " The Grudge " with a $39 million debut in 2004. That film had a less-restrictive PG-13 rating, while the R rating for "Friday the 13th" ostensibly prevented fans under age 17 from buying tickets unless accompanied by an adult. > > > > > The new film is essentially a remake of the 1980 film that kicked off the horror series and eventually introduced a hockey-masked villain named Jason. His most recent appearance, in 2003's "Freddy vs. Jason," generated a $36.4 million opening. > > > > > Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc , predicted "Friday the 13th" would end up in the $48 million range once sales for the U.S. Presidents Day holiday on Monday were calculated. The film was directed by German filmmaker Marcus Nispel , who shot the hit 2004 retread of " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ." Both films were produced by "Transformers" director Michael Bay , whose Platinum Dunes banner specializes in low-budget horror remakes. > > > > > Also new this weekend were Walt Disney Co's Isla Fisher comedy " Confessions of a Shopaholic " at No. 4 with a modest $15.4 million, and Columbia Pictures' Clive Owen thriller "The International" at No. 7 with $10 million. > > Columbia, a unit of Sony Corp , also had a disappointment last weekend with " The Pink Panther 2 " ($22 million to date). But the studio's surprise hit comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" crashed through the century mark, tallying $110.5 million after an $11.7 million weekend. > > > > > Last weekend's champion, Warner Bros.' ensemble romance " He's Just Not That Into You ," slipped to No. 2 with $19.6 million, taking its 10-day tally to $55.1 million. The comedy, based on a self-help book that was itself inspired by the TV show "Sex and the City," revolves around the lives and loves of various couples. The A-list lineup includes Jennifer Aniston , Drew Barrymore , Ben Affleck and Scarlett Johansson . > > > > > The thriller "Taken" fell one place to No. 3 with $19.3 million in its third weekend. Liam Neeson plays a father in a race against time to prevent his kidnapped teen daughter's virginity from being taken by an Arab sheikh. The surprise success, produced by French filmmaker Luc Besson , has earned $77.9 million to date, and should hit $120 million, said distributor 20th Century Fox , a unit of News Corp . > > > > > (Editing by Eric Beech) > > (please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/) >
