It’s always good to see a horror film at the #1 position at the box office, even if the flick isn’t the best representation. This weekend, Mikael Håfström’s THE RITE opened at #1 with a gross of over $15 million.
The film has been receiving mediocre-at-best reviews – it stands at a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes and you can read The Arrow’s write-up here – but that didn’t stop people from showing up. THE RITE was the highest-grossing opening for Anthony Hopkins in a non-Hannibal-Lecter starring role. In terms of exorcism flicks, it did fairly well, opening higher than similarly-themed THE LAST EXORCISM and THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE.
Simon West’s action remake THE MECHANIC opened at #3 with $11.5 million, while Darren Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN dropped from #6 to #8. Dominic Sena’s Nic Cage vehicle SEASON OF THE WITCH is still clinging on at #19.
Next weekend, Christian E. Christiansen’s genre thriller THE ROOMMATE opens, along with Alister Grierson’s SANCTUM. Will THE RITE be able to hold its #1 spot against a picture with James Cameron’s name all over it?
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
| 1. The Rite | $ 15 Million | NEW |
| 2. No Strings Attached | $ 13.7 Million | $ 39.7 Million |
| 3. The Mechanic | $ 11.5 Million | NEW |
| 4. The Green Hornet | $ 11.5 Million | $ 78.8 Million |
| 5. The King’s Speech | $ 11.1 Million | $ 72.2 Million |
| 6. True Grit | $ 7.6 Million | $ 148.4 Million |
| 7. The Dilemma | $ 5.5 Million | $ 40.6 Million |
| 8. Black Swan | $ 5.1 Million | $ 90.7 Million |
| 9. The Fighter | $ 4.1 Million | $ 78.4 Million |
| 10. Yogi Bear | $ 3.2 Million | $ 92.5 Million |
THE RITE star Alice Braga
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