- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
The remake of Sam Raimi‘s 1981 cult horror pic Evil Dead easily won the Friday box office race with $11.9 million for an expected weekend gross of $27 million.
Nostalgia invaded the box office all the way around. The 3D rerelease of Steven Spielberg‘s Jurassic Park also did better than expected, landing at No. 2 with $7 million. That puts the redo on course for weekend earnings of $18.5 million.
STORY: Got $35,000? You Can Watch ‘Jurassic Park 3D’ at Home This Weekend
The Croods and G.I. Joe: Retaliation are both expected to overtake Jurassic Park as the weekend gets fully underway. Croods should place No. 2 with a weekend gross in the $21 million to $22 million range, while G.I. Joe is projected to take in $20 million.
Evil Dead, from Sony/TriStar, FilmDistrict and Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures, earned a C+ CinemaScore. Usually that would be problematic but horror films often receive a middling grade.
It is the fourth Evil Dead title and the first not to be directed by Raimi, who personally tapped Fede Alvarez to direct the reboot, which follows five friends who awaken a demonic presence while visiting a cabin in rural Massachusetts. The pic also opens this weekend in 19 foreign markets.
Universal opens the 3D rerelease of Jurassic Park 20 years after the original dinosaur movie debuted and is using the pic to prime audiences for Jurassic Park IV, which rolls out in June 2014 (Spielberg is producing but not directing). Hollywood has had a mixed track record with 3D rereleases and will be watching closely to see how Jurassic Park performs.
G.I. Joe, from Paramount, MGM and Skydance, placed No. 3 on Friday for a domestic total of $72 million.
DreamWorks Animation and Fox’s Croods came in No. 4 with $6 million, pushing its domestic cume to $110.7 million. The family film is anticipating a sizeable bump on Saturday.
Lionsgate and Tyler Perry‘s sultry thriller Temptation came in No. 5 on its second Friday with $3.4 million for an eight-day total of $31.7 million.
Related Stories
Related Stories
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day