We genre fans were all hoping for a true horror movie to be #1 at the box office for the first time in months, but alas Wes Craven’s SCREAM 4 was beat out by the family movie RIO. SCREAM 4 came in at #2 with only $19.3 million. That is by far the lowest opening in the series, even without factoring for inflation.
I guess a decade away will do that to an audience. If you want to be optimistic, the flick did out-gross a bunch of other recent R-rated horror flicks. However, there’s no denying that the numbers are hugely disappointing for a entry in a widely successful franchise. Who knows what the impact will be on the two other planned sequels.
Speaking of optimism, let’s give it up for James Wan’s INSIDIOUS. It may not be a box office smash, but the low-budget flick is holding its own far better than a typical horror movie. It made $6.9 million at #7, only two spots down from last week. Believe it or not, the film actually has a chance of out-grossing SCREAM 4 in the long run.
Duncan Jones’ SOURCE CODE was right behind it at #8 with $6.3 million and also had a relatively low drop-off. Neil Burger’s LIMITLESS came in at #11 with $3.8 million. Zach Snyder’s SUCKER PUNCH‘s poor run is down to #18 with $625,000. Beyond that are Jonathan Liebesman’s BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, Greg Mottola’s PAUL and George Nolfi’s THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU at #20, #21 and #22, respectively.
We don’t have any wide horror releases next week – most likely because everyone was expecting SCREAM 4 to perform better – but Jim Mickel’s STAKE LAND will be opening in limited theaters. If it’s playing in your area, you should support it.
| 1. Rio |
$ 40.0 million | NEW |
| 2. Scream 4 |
$ 19.3 million | NEW |
| 3. Hop |
$ 11.2 million | $ 82.6 million |
| 4. Soul Surfer |
$ 7.4 million | $ 20.0 million |
| 5. Hanna |
$ 7.3 million | $ 23.3 million |
| 6. Arthur |
$ 6.9 million | $ 22.3 million |
| 7. Insidious |
$ 6.9 million | $ 36.0 million |
| 8. Source Code |
$ 6.3 million | $ 37.0 million |
| 9. The Conspirator |
$ 3.9 million | NEW |
| 10. Your Highness | $ 3.9 million | $ 16.0 million |
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