Friday the 13th Wins Highest Box-office Debut

Jason Bloodies Screens Since 1980; Horror Franchise Still Strong

Feb 15, 2009

Friday the 13th's Jason never seems to tire of killing teenagers. He's back in 12th remake of long-running horror franchise.

Some franchises never die; instead they are resurrected and limp along forever tallying zillions in box-office returns worldwide. Such is the case with the 12th and latest incarnation of the Friday the 13th series.

Friday the 13th Kills at the Box Office

Forget Valentine's Day, audiences wanted blood. Friday the 13th is the 12th film to spring from the 1980 original and the hockey-mask wearing Jason and his bloody-thirsty habits are undoubtedly inspiring studio heads in the race to refresh classic horror titles. Remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, (the horrifying first film not the fromage-laden sequels), The Wolf Man, and The Last House on the Left are reportedly slated to head to the big screen.

Aniston, Affleck, Barrymore

Also this mid-February weekend, audiences were definitely into the romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You, which was second in line with $19.6-million, bringing its 10-day total to $55.1-million. A star-studded cast including Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johannson, and Ben Affleck might have had something to do with it.

Taken with Taken

The thriller Taken starring British thespian Liam Neeson kept us its momentum and slid into third place with $19.3-million. The picture has done $77.9-million in three weeks.

Confessions of Shopping in a RecessionThe Isla Fisher comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic earned $15.4-million (which could buy any shopaholic a zillion shoes) and click-clacked into fourth place, while the animated Coraline took $15.3-million and was in fifth place.

The International Allure of Clive Owen

The newest film on screens throughout the U.S., the political thriller The International, starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts was seventh with $10-million, meeting most projections, according to USA Today.

Ticket sales surged 28% compared to last weekend and 43% compared to the same weekend last year.

Top Five Films in the U.S.

The copyright of the article Friday the 13th Wins Highest Box-office Debut in Horror Films is owned by Amber Nasrulla. Permission to republish Friday the 13th Wins Highest Box-office Debut in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.