Resident Evil Afterlife spent the weekend making an awful lot of money. Here's Ron's box office round-up...
There was only one new release over the weekend, and it was a big one. Milla Jovovich + Zombies + 3D = Profit. Resident Evil: Afterlife is the fourth film in the Resident Evil series, and it also had the largest opening of any of the Resident Evil movies, topping the box office with a $26.65 million opening weekend. A staggering eighty-four percent of that was from 3D screenings, and the movie even got on some IMAX 3D screens, which kind of boggles my mind since it's a Resident Evil movie and not a real movie. Of course, it also helps that there's nothing else out right now.
Takers performed best among the holdovers, barely besting The American's box office total. Takers took in $5.675 million versus The American's $5.675 million. Considering even last week's totals, this is a huge drop in overall business. You have to expect it, given this is the worst time of the year for everything movie-related. Nothing good comes out until later in October, then after Thanksgiving there's the Christmas rush. Then nothing again.
Dropping to fourth this weekend is Machete. The flick picked up $4.29 million, and given that it has grossed over $20 million, has already nearly surpassed the film that spawned it, Grindhouse. Of course, some of the Grindhouse investment was recouped internationally by splitting the two films, and on DVD sales, but I imagine it's nice to actually make money in US theaters, too.
Rounding out the top five is Going The Distance, which picked up $3.78 million over the weekend. It was also in the top five last week, holding onto fifth for the second weekend in a row. It's not looking like it'll make its money back. Hopefully, this will encourage Drew Barrymore to make Firestarter 2: The Adult Years.
Fellow comedy The Other Guys lands in sixth place, rising from last weekend's seventh spot, though the money total is down with 3.347 million bucks. Another Will Ferrell movie makes $100 million. You just can't stop this guy.
Falling to seventh is The Last Exorcism. The scare picture raked up another $3.322 million, turning Lionsgate's scant $1.8 million production budget into a sizable nut pushing $40 million. Just think, when it leaves theaters, they can get it on DVD just in time for Halloween!
The Expendables drops to eighth this weekend, taking in 3.22 million bucks. So far, the movie has taken in $98 million. A sneeze and by this time next weekend, it'll be over $100 million domestic. Welcome back, Sly Stallone, and feel free to start working on The Expendables 2: Even More Expendable Than Before.
Rounding out the top ten are Eat Pray Love (ninth place, $2.9 million) and Inception (tenth place, $2.8 million).
Coming out this weekend is a movie with the funniest trailer I've ever seen. I've not seen this trailer fail to elicit belly laughs from the audience at every movie I've gone to since the first time I saw it. It's not the trailer for the animated comedy/adventure Alpha And Omega (weirdly, it's a Lionsgate movie, yet it's animation!) or the trailer for the romantic comedy Easy A (with the lovely Emma Stone). It's not even Ben Affleck Bostoning it up for The Town.
No, ladies and gents, the funniest trailer of the year is for Devil. The first time I saw this trailer, the audience was riveted, until the voiceover guy ominously announced that the film was "from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan". Then someone yelled out, "It's a twist!" and no audience has ever been able to take the movie seriously.