What is it with horror films these days? It doesn’t matter how badly they are reviewed, or what they’re about; they just keep raking in money at the box office. "Boogeyman," which has a very moldy Tomatometer of 8%, dominated the box office this weekend with $19M. It is directed by the director/writer (Stephen Kay) of such classics as the 0% "Mod Squad" and the 10% Stallone dud "Get Carter" — maybe it’s all those Lucy Lawless ("Xena") fans who just wanted to see her back on the screen (big or small).
"The Wedding Date," starring Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney, had a strong debut with $11.1M, despite being clobbered by critics. It has a similarly moldy 10% on the Tomatometer. It placed second.
In third place is "Are We There Yet" with $10.6M for a side-splitting total of $51.3M in three weeks. Despite bad reviews, the film continues to hold up well from week to week, and may even eclipse "Barbershop"’s $75M total as Ice Cube’s personal best for films in which he received top billing.
Last week’s chart topper, "Hide and Seek," fell to fourth place this weekend with $8.9M. Of the films in the top 10, it has the biggest drop-off from the previous weekend at 59%. Its total in two weeks is a still solid $35.7M.
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 are "Million Dollar Baby" with $8.5M ($34.4M total); "The Aviator" with $5.4M ($75.9M total); "Meet the Fockers" with $4.8M ($265.2M total); "Sideways" with $4.7M ($46.7M total); "Racing Stripes" with $4.3M ($40.4M total); and "Coach Carter" with $4.2M ($59.3M total).
