“Spartans” Surprise Attack Beats the Competition

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By Editorial 18 years ago

The comedy “Meet the Spartans,” by 20th Century Fox, opened in first place at the movie box office for the weekend ended Jan. 27. With an estimated gross of $18.7 million, the opening shocked industry watchers as this dark horse candidate surpassed Sylvester Stallone’s latest “Rambo” and last week’s heavy-hitter, “Cloverfield.”

Stallone’s comeback vehicle, two decades after “Rambo III,” appears solid. This — the fourth installment placed an impressive $18.2 million, earning second place. Another Fox film, the romantic comedy “27 Dresses,” finished the weekend at number three, with $13.6 million. Paramount’s sci-fi thriller “Cloverfield,” after a bigger-than-expected opening last weekend, experienced a titanic drop of 72% this weekend to finish at number four with $12.7 million.

Sony Pictures’ thriller “Untraceable” opened at a disappointing number five with an estimated gross of $11.2, barely breaking out of its expected female-oriented audience. And the season’s unexpected hit “Juno” keeps chugging along, picking up another $10.3 million after its four Oscar nominations, to push its total box office take past the vaunted $100 million mark.

The Top Ten estimated grosses list follows. (Source: The Numbers.com)