Box Office: The Grey Sees Green, Underworld Still Awake

By Foywonder
January 29th, 2012

It's official: Americans love wolf fighting! It was a weekend where two of the top three films revolved around the notion of a name actor punching, kicking, and shooting lupine creatures of all kinds. Sarah Palin must be so excited today.

The prospect of Liam Neeson fist fighting ravenous wolves proved to be too much of a draw for the competition at the box office this weekend weekend. Joe Carnahan’s The Grey easily took the top spot, over-performing to the tune of $20 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Given the film is a smarter, more adult take on the traditional nature gone amok genre, it will be interesting to see if it continues to have four legs at the box office next weekend.

Meanwhile, Kate Beckinsale in tight leather punching and shooting werewolves held well with only a 51% drop-off. That was good enough for 3rd place and another $10.4 million. In 10 days the continuing adventures of Kate Beckinsale dropping from ceilings has taken in an estimated $45.1 million at the box office domestically, all but assuring that there will be more Kate Beckinsale dropping from ceilings to come.

Next weekend sees quite a few horror offerings in both wide and limited release. On a smaller scale, some of you will get a chance to see IFC’s horrific hitman offering Kill List and Ti West’s ghostly chiller The Innkeepers.

In wide release, the somewhat horror-ish superpowers-in-the-wrong-hands cinema verite flick Chronicle opens to answer the question as to whether or not The Devil Inside has killed the audience’s appetite for the found footage genre. Though, from looking at the TV spots, they’ve cleverly marketing it so that you wouldn’t immediately know it's a found footage flick.

But the real deal for fright fans next weekend will be The Woman in Black, Hammer Films’ terrifying tale recalling the horrors set upon a woman who lives with Uncle Creepy for years on end. It’s been called the most traumatic moviegoing experience in years by yours truly. Matt Fini actually fainted at the premiere.