Box Office: 'Friday the 13th' reigns with $42M

Weekend of February 13 – 15, 2009

“Friday the 13th” slashed its competition at the top of the North American box office with a whopping $42.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Marcus Nispel’s remake of the 1980 horror flick follows Jason Voorhees as he brutally murders everyone daring to enter his territory at Camp Crystal Lake. The film was produced on a $19 million budget.

Things didn’t look that great for this weekend’s two other wide releases. P.J. Hogan’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” debuted only at No. 4, pulling in $15.4 million. Based on the books by Sophie Kinsella, the film follows Isla Fisher as a journalist struggling to get control of her debt.

Meanwhile, Tom Tykwer’s thriller “The International” finished in seventh place, collecting only $10 million. Starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, the movie focuses on an Interpol agent and a NY district attorney trying to bring down a corrupt bank.

Still going strong at the top of the box office was “He’s Just Not That Into You,” which lifted its domestic gross to $55 million after weekend earnings of $19.6 million at No. 2. Following in third place was “Taken,” which grabbed another $19.2 million for a total of $77.9 million.

Slipping to No. 5 with $15.3 million was Henry Selick’s 3D motion capture adventure “Coraline,” which brought its cumulative gross to $35.5 million after two weeks in release. At No. 6, Kevin James’ comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” took home $11 million for a total haul of 110.5 million after a strong five-week run.

At the bottom of the top 10, “The Pink Panther 2” lost four spots and dropped to No. 8, scoring only $9 million and reaching a domestic total of $22.3 million. Following in ninth place was Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” which earned $7.1 million for a cume of $86.5 million.

Paul McGuigan’s thriller “Push” finished in 10th place this weekend, reaching a total gross of $19.3 million after weekend earnings totaling $6.9 million.

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