New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Landing in second is 28 Weeks Later, the follow-up to the low budget 28 Days Later. The first film in this series opened in late June of 2003 and was a surprise hit, earning $10 million from only 1,260 venues. It was huge on DVD, and the sequel seemed to have all the earmarks for beating the original in terms of opening weekend. Oddly enough, the sequel was only able to match the original, also coming in with an opening weekend gross of $10.0 million. It needed almost double the amount of screens to do it, though, as 28 Weeks Later debuted at 2,303 venues and carried a venue average of $4,342 - well off the original's $7,986. The simple difference between the two debuts is buzz; the buzz for the original was deafening. It was to be the re-invention of the zombie genre (and it certainly was). The sequel, while still an excellent film, provided nothing new and may suffer because of it. Critically, it did very well, especially for a zombie flick. At RottenTomatoes, 121 reviewers chimed in and 85 found something to like, giving it a fresh rating of 70%. I don't think 28 Weeks Later is done yet, and I don't predict a Spider-Man 3 like drop next weekend.

The rest of the top ten is a definite disaster; it's almost like the zombies of 28 Weeks Later had their way with the bottom rungs of the top ten. Finishing third is Georgia Rule, the Jane Fonda/Lindsay Lohan chick flick that was supposed to be excellent counter-programming. It certainly wasn't Notting Hill, as Georgia Rule opened extremely poorly, earning only $5.9 million over its first three days. The Universal product debuted at 2,523 venues and had a venue average of $2,331. It was no secret that there was a large amount of trouble on the set of Georgia Rule, and that went hand in hand with the horrible reviews it received this weekend. Georgia Rule got an 18% fresh rating from RottenTomatoes, and will be sent packing after only one weekend. Lohan had better watch out - after what looked to be a promising career, Lohan has now had Just My Luck flop ($17.3 million finish), and forgettable appearances in A Prairie Home Companion and Bobby. Last year, Tom Cruise killed Mission: Impossible 3, and now Lohan has done the same thing with Georgia Rule.

Finishing fourth after five weekends of release is Disturbia, the thriller that has dodged about a thousand bullets since its release. Disturbia earned another $4.8 million this weekend, and was off an exemplary 18% compared to the previous frame. Did this one benefit from the hard R rating that 28 Weeks Later received? Maybe, but word-of-mouth amongst the teen set has made this one a $66.3 million dollar winner.

New release Delta Farce finishes fifth, a better ranking that its opening weekend gross deserves. Delta Farce fooled people into $3.5 million worth of ticket sales, as the idiotic comedy opened at 1,931 venues. Starring Larry the Cable Guy, this one received zero positive reviews at RottenTomatoes, and should be a shoe-in for a pile of Razzies next year. How quickly can Delta Farce go away? Not quickly enough.

Continued:       1       2       3