Zombieland Triumphs at Box Office

Ruben Fleischer creates smash hit in zombie genre

Oct 21, 2009 Tony Sidgwick

As of the 20th October 2009, Zombieland is the highest grossing zombie flick of all time, beating the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.

It’s fair to say that zombie films have been done to death (pun intended). There have been remakes of the originals, and various lacklustre imitations. Previously, the most successful has been the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. Comedy zombie flicks, however, are a relatively new phenomenon. There was the hilarious British spoof Shaun of the Dead, which did well on both sides of the pond. Now the Yanks have had a go, in true rip-roaring Hollywood fashion, and thankfully, they’ve done one hell of a job of it!

Director Ruben Fleischer Has a Hit

Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland is an absolute success, combining guns-blazing action with witty humour whilst still managing to include that underlying element of post-apocalyptic despair that gives zombie movies their kick. While Shaun of the Dead was a spoof ridiculing the whole genre, Zombieland is an action film that celebrates the genre with comedy.

Even the opening credits are enjoyable, featuring some artsy yet amusing slow motion action shots of people getting taken out by zombies, and really set the tone for what’s to come. Fleischer also manages to give enough depth to the characters to get you on their side, and you truly find yourself hoping that they don’t fall prey to the psychotic flesh-eating monsters that now rule the world.

Adding to the comedy value are Columbus’s (Eisenberg) rules for survival, which are peppered throughout the plot, and feature such gems as:

Rule no. 1: Cardio (because fatties are the first to go)
Rule no. 2: The Double Tap (a second shot makes sure they’re dead)

Then there is Tallahassee’s (Harrelson) eternal quest for Twinkies. It’s these little sub-plots that keep the film amusing for the entire 87 minutes, and reveal the depth of thought that has been put into the script.

Zombieland Cast

Predictably, Woody Harrelson steals the show as the kick-ass gun-toting zombie annihilator, but that’s not to take away from the performances of relative newcomers Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. Eisenberg is the perfect geek-turned-killing-machine-by-necessity, and Stone and Breslin pull off the cynical survivalist sisters parts well. And a suitably ludicrous cameo by Bill Murray rounds off all the great performances nicely, providing the icing on the comedic cake.

Zombieland topped the box office on its opening weekend, and is now the biggest grossing zombie movie in history, beating the Dawn of the Dead remake, and it’s easy to see why. If you haven’t already been to see this excellent film, make it your next visit. And possibly, the next one after that too! Perhaps the best news about all this to date is that writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are already talking about a sequel. Bring it on.

The copyright of the article Zombieland Triumphs at Box Office in Horror Films is owned by Tony Sidgwick. Permission to republish Zombieland Triumphs at Box Office in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Zombieland Movie poster