HOLLYWOOD - Zombies rock!Dawn of the Dead, the horror remake of the 1978 George Romero cult classic, finally took the box office title away from The Passion of the Christ with $27.3 million, which came in second with $19.1 million.
Dead proves once again moviegoers' appetite for the macabre, following recent hits The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which opened last October with $28 million and Jeepers Creepers 2, which opened last summer with $15.2 million.
Other newcomers to make it to the top 10 included the psychological thriller Taking Lives, starring Angelina Jolie, which came in third place with $11.4 million and the quirky love story Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which took sixth with $9.6 million.
This is the fourth week in row where the box office numbers were up from last year. The Top 12 films grossed an estimated $109.7 million, up 32.56 percent from last year's $82.7 million and up 5.35 percent from last week's $104.1 million.
Last year, Buena Vista's PG-13 rated comedy Bringing Down the House held on to the No. 1 spot for the third week in a row with $16.2 million at 2,871 theaters with a $5,644 per theater average; Warner Bros. R-rated Dreamcatcher opened in second place with $15 million in 2,945 theaters with a $5,103 per theater average; and MGM's PG rated teen spy flick Agent Cody Banks took third place in its second week with $9.2 million in 3,369 theaters with a $2,739 per theater average
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Dawn of the Dead (Universal Pictures, R)
• Gross: $27.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,745
• Per-theater average: $9,945
No. 2: The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket, R)
• Gross: $19.1 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,250 (+29)
• Per-theater average: $5,904
• Cume to date: $295.2 million
No. 3: Taking Lives (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $11.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,705
• Per-theater average: $4,218
No. 4: Starsky & Hutch (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $10.6 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,185 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $3,352
• Cume to date: $67.7 million
No. 5: The Secret Window (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $9.6 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,018
• Per-theater average: $3,181
• Cume to date: $33.1 million
No. 6: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Focus Features, PG-13)
• Gross: $8.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,353
• Per-theater average: $6,334
No. 7: Hidalgo (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $8.5 million (-28%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,929 (-136 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $2,902
• Cume to date: $48.5 million
No. 8: Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (MGM, PG)
• Gross: $6 million (-25%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,973 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,018
• Cume to date: $17.2 million
No. 9: 50 First Dates (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.3 million (-21%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,153 (-433)
• Per-theater average: $1,997
• Cume to date: $113.1 million
No. 10: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $1.5 million (-39%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,281 (-520)
• Per-theater average: $1,171
• Cume to date: $27.6 million