Box Office: “Prom Night" scares up $22 million

 

By Franck Tabouring 

Weekend of April 11 - 13 

“Prom Night” slashed its competition and took over the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with $22.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Screen Gems’ remake of Paul Lynch’s 1980 horror flick debuted at 2,700 sites Friday, and scored with audiences despite being slammed by critics nationwide. Directed by Nelson McCormick, the film stars Brittany Snow as a high school student chased by a sadistic killer at her senior prom.

David Ayer’s crime thriller “Street Kings” opened in second place this weekend with $12 million. Released by 20th Century Fox and based on a story by James Ellroy, the film stars Keanu Reeves as a veteran cop who goes ballistic after being implicated in the murder of his former partner.

Last week’s winner “21” dropped to No. 3, earning $11 million from ticket sales at 2,736 locations. The Robert Luketic-directed crime drama, which tells the story of a gifted MIT student who spends his weekend in Vegas cashing in at the big casinos, reached a domestic total of $62.2 million after three weeks in release.

At No. 4, “Nim’s Island” collected $9 million and lifted its cumulative gross to $25.2 million after a mediocre two-week run. Directed by Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, the family film stars Abigail Breslin as a young adventurer who inhabits a secret island with her scientist father (Gerard Butler).

Meanwhile, George Clooney’s screwball comedy “Leatherheads” slipped to fifth place, taking home $6.2 million. Starring Clooney as a football hero struggling to save his team from financial ruin, the Universal release brought its domestic total to $21.9.

“Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” delivered yet another strong performance at the box office, pulling $6 million from 3,209 sites. The Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino-directed computer-generated film, which features the voice of Jim Carrey as an eccentric elephant, reached a total haul of $139.6 million after an impressive five-week run.

New entry “Smart People” debuted in seventh place with a weekend opening gross of $4.2 million. Released by Miramax Films, the Noam Murro-directed family drama tells the story of a depressed professor whose life takes a drastic turn after his adopted brother shows up at his front door.

Following closely at No. 8 was Paramount’s horror flick “The Ruins,” which collected $3.2 million and lifted its cumulative gross to $13.4 million after two weeks in release. Based on a novel by Scott B. Smith and directed by Carter Smith, the thriller focuses on four Americans who get trapped at an archeological site during vacation in Mexico.

Two films rounded out the top 10: MGM’s spoof “Superhero Movie” with a weekend gross of $3.1 million, and Paramount’s family comedy “Drillbit Taylor with $2 million.

Exiting the top 10 this weekend were “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns,” which lifted its domestic total to $40.1 million after four weeks in release, and Roland Emmerich’s historical epic “10,000 B.C.,” which pulled in a total of $91.7 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)