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"Disturbia" spies second week atop U.S. box office
2007-04-22
The teen thriller "Disturbia" led the North American box office for a second weekend, while new releases such as the crime drama "Fracture" and the hotel horror "Vacancy" failed to make much of an impact. According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Disturbia" sold $13.5 million worth of tickets in the three days beginning April 20, taking its 10-day haul to $40.7 million. The low-budget homage to Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" stars Shia LaBeouf as a teen who becomes convinced his neighbor is a serial killer. The film was produced by DreamWorks and released by Paramount Pictures. The Viacom Inc. units have ruled the box office for four consecutive weeks now, with the comedy "Blades of Glory" reigning for the first half of April. "Fracture" followed at No. 2 with $11.2 million and "Vacancy" checked in at No. 4 with $7.6 million. Industry observers had expected them to open in the $10 million-$15 million range. The British cop spoof "Hot Fuzz" arrested the No. 6 spot with $5.8 million, exceeding expectations, and the female-centric drama "In the Land of Women" opened at No. 8 with a modest $4.9 million. "Fracture" stars Anthony Hopkins as a devious murderer who matches wits with a young district attorney played by Ryan Gosling, the Oscar-nominated star of "Half Nelson." A spokeswoman for its distributor, New Line Cinema, said the studio had hoped it would earn more than $10 million. New Line is a unit of Time Warner Inc. "Vacancy" stars Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson as an unhappy couple stranded at an old motel who become unwitting stars in their own snuff film. It was released by Screen Gems, the low-budget genre division of Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE)., which enjoyed two chart-toppers earlier this year with "The Messengers" ($14.7 million opening) and "Stomp the Yard" ($25.9 million). Given its $19 million budget, the studio was confident the film would be profitable. "Hot Fuzz," from the creators of the cult zombie spoof "Shaun of the Dead," has already earned more than $40 million in Britain. Its $5.8 million tally in North America was earned from just 825 theaters (versus more than 2,000 each for "Fracture" and "Vacancy.") Distributor Rogue Pictures said it expects the positive word of mouth to boost its performance when it expands to 1,100-1,200 theaters next weekend. Rogue is the genre arm of Focus Features, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal. "In the Land of Women" stars Adam Brody, of the teen soap "The O.C.," as a porn writer entwined in the loves of a suburban mother and daughter, played, respectively, by Meg Ryan and Kristen Stewart. Time Warner-owned distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said the film cost under $10 million to make, and would be profitable.
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