Paramount's low-budget thriller Cloverfield opened with
an estimated US$41 million in ticket sales this weekend in U.S. and
Canadian theaters, setting a new record for January, according to
preliminary box office figures released Sunday.
Mysterious advertisements, a viral marketing program and an
enticing premise proved to be effective for the film, which follows
a band of partygoers who capture on video an ill-fated evening in
New York when a skyscraper-sized monster attacks.
Actress Jennifer Morrison
attends the premiere of Cloverfield in Los Angeles,
January 16, 2008. (photo: Reuters via CRI)
The Paramount release, with a budget of US$25 million, went into
the black on its first weekend of exhibition despite getting
very-mixed reviews. It surpasses the January record of US$35.9
million set by "Star Wars" special edition in 1997.
According to Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By
Numbers, Cloverfield may also be the biggest
Internet-driven movie release since "The Blair Witch Project" in
1999.
With TV programming largely stuck in reality mode or reruns
thanks to the ongoing screenwriters' strike, Americans flocked to
the movie theaters this weekend, giving Hollywood a huge lift at
the box office during what is normally a sleepy time for new
releases.
Romantic-comedy 27 Dresses from 20th Century Fox,
another new premiere over the weekend, also did strong in box
office, taking in an estimated US$22.4 million.
Meanwhile, last week's box office leader The Bucket
List and front-runner Juno both held on to strong
weekend business, finishing third and fourth with US$15.1 million
and US$10.3 million respectively.
The season's big winner, Disney's National
Treasure: Book of Secrets, did another US$8.1 million this
weekend. The Nicholas Cage film has amassed a five-week record of
US$198 million in ticket sales in North America since its release
before Christmas.
The dozen top-grossing films took in a combined US$135 million
at the box office this weekend, up nearly 39 percent over that
during the same period a year ago, according to the Media By
Numbers.
(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2008)
