HOLLYWOOD - The devil made them do it.The Exorcism of Emily Rose--a story inspired by true events about a Catholic priest on trial for negligent homicide following the death of a satanically possessed 19-year-old--opened in the top spot with $30.2 million, pushing last week's champ, Transporter 2, to third place with $7.2 million.
Exhibitor's Relations Paul Dergarabedian attributed the popularity of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, to its genre-bending style. "It has a lot of very interesting elements that make it not your typical horror movie," he told The Associated Press. The film's debut marks the third biggest September opener, behind Sweet Home Alabama, which opened in 2002 with $35.6 million, and the first Rush Hour, which opened in 1998 with $33 million.
Also opening this week was The Man, a buddy-cop comedy starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy, which debuted in sixth place with $4 million. But the small-town drama An Unfinished Life, starring Jennifer Lopez and Robert Redford, didn't make the Top 10, only taking in $1 million.
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated a four-day total of $73.6 million, up 16.44 percent from last year's draw of $63.2 million but down 5.61 percent from last weekend's $78 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Screen Gems R-rated Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which opened at the No. 1 spot with $23 million in 3,284 theaters, averaging $7,015 per theater; New Line's PG-13 Cellular, which debuted in second place with $10.1 million in 2,749 theaters, averaging $3,674 per theater; and Paramount Pictures' PG-13 rated Without a Paddle, which dropped to third in its fourth week with $4.5 million in 2,754 theaters, averaging $1,639 per theater. (Click here to read last year's box office report)
(This week's box office Top 10 below...)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Four-Day Totals)
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Exorcism of Emily Rose (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $30.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,981
• Per-theater average: $10,131
No. 2: The 40 Year-Old Virgin (Universal, R)
• Gross: $7.9 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,976 (+75)
• Per-theater average: $2,655
• Cume to date: $82.3 million
No. 3: Transporter 2 (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.2 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,320
• Per-theater average: $2,169
• Cume to date: $30.1 million
No. 4: The Constant Gardener (Focus Features, R)
• Gross: $4.8 million (-44%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,381 (+35)
• Per-theater average: $3,486
• Cume to date: $19 million
No. 5: Red-Eye (DreamWorks, PG-13)
• Gross: $ 4.6 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,076 (-58))
• Per-theater average: $3,486
• Cume to date: $51.3 million
No. 6: The Man (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,040
• Per-theater average: $1,973
No. 7: The Brothers Grimm (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-54%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,750 (-348)
• Per-theater average: $1,205
No. 8: The Wedding Crashers (New Line, R)
• Gross: $3.2 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 8
• Theaters: 2,181 (-235)
• Per-theater average: $1,490
• Cume to date: $200 million
No. 9: Four Brothers (Paramount, R)
• Gross: $2.9 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,093 (-342)
• Per-theater average: $1,409
• Cume to date: $68.2 million
No. 10: March of the Penguins (Warner Independent, G)
• Gross: $2.5 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 16
• Theaters: 2,403 (-103)
• Per-theater average: $1,051
• Cume to date: $66.8 million
OTHER OPENINGS
An Unfinished Life (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 139
• Per-theater average: $7,264