Undead Rule the Box Office as Zombieland Takes First Place
October 4th, 2009
Not that there was much doubt due to the mass appeal of Woody Harrelson and comedies in general (even those of the splatterific variety), but we're happy to report that Zombieland (review here) grossed an estimated $25 million this weekend, landing it in the No. 1 spot for box office receipts.
As THR breaks it down, produced for an estimated $24 million, Zombieland gave helmer Ruben Fleischer his first feature directing credit.
The R-rated action comedy drew audiences skewing 56% male, with 58% of patrons under 25. Its bow was at the lower end of pre-release forecasts but still well-received by executives.
"We felt very strongly the movie was going to work," Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said. "This movie really makes you laugh."
Zombieland Synopsis:
A cowardly shut-in named Columbus (Eisenberg) is forced to join up with a seasoned zombie slayer named Tallahassee (Harrelson) in order to survive. As Tallahassee sets out on a mission to find the last Twinkie on Earth, the two men meet up with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), two young girls who have resorted to some rather unorthodox methods to survive amidst the chaos. Reluctant partners in the battle against the undead, all four soon begin to wonder if they might not be better off on their own.
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I was happy cause horror comedies were starting to get a really bad wrap for their box office performance, and I love the sub-genre. When you have well reviewed stuff like Slither underperform it's hard to not buy into the whole 'Horror Comedies don't make money' mindset.
Why Zombieland didn't fall victim to the same thing that saw Slither do so badly doesn't really matter. We've had a horror comedy hit, which should help keep the sub-genre going for another few years at least.
It's well deserved success too. A good horror comedy (not a horror spoof) actually doing the numbers it deserves to? What's not to smile about.
Submitted by plagiarize on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 7:20am.
This is good news for me because it means more zombie movies.
Submitted by Didn't See It Coming on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 11:44pm.