Sure, sure, it was the only wide release to open this past weekend, so obviously "The Amityville Horror" was bound to hit the #1 spot. But what’s pleasantly surprising (to the producers, anyway) is the news that the haunted house remake scared up $23.3 million in over 3,300 theaters. Although "Amityville" did come up short of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and its $28 million opening frame, the filmmakers can take solace in the fact that "Horror" cost less than $20m to produce … and is therefore (almost) cutting a profit already.Hanging in at second place is last weekend’s "Sahara," which tallied just over $13m. Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore‘s "Fever Pitch" was in third place with $8.8m, with "Sin City" ($6.7m) and "Guess Who" ($4.9m) closing out the Top 5. "Sahara" won an important battle by only slipping 28% in its second weekend, while I’m sure the Frank Miller fans will be pleased to know that "Sin City" has now crossed $60m in domestic sales. Looks like "Amityville" caught a break by having no new competition, but next week sees the release of three big-ticket titles ("The Interpreter," "A Lot Like Love," and "King’s Ransom"), plus the 2,000-theater expansion of Stephen Chow‘s "Kung Fu Hustle." Check out the Rotten Tomatoes Box Office Chart for a lot more of the hard numbers.
