KEVIN SMITH - HALLOWEEN FAILS TO SCARE UP BOX-OFFICE BUSINESS

HALLOWEEN FAILS TO SCARE UP BOX-OFFICE BUSINESS

Halloween, which came on a Friday night this year, gave the box office thewillies, as the usual Friday-night dating crowd searched out otherentertainment. (The last time Halloween fell on a Friday -- in 2003 -- therewere no new releases. Only Lionsgate's horror flick Saw 5 escaped thebox office massacre, taking in $3.1 million on Friday and $10.1 million forthe weekend, to place third. Another horror flick, The Haunting of MollyHartley, took in $6 million to come in fifth. Overall the box officeplunged 36 percent below the comparable weekend a year ago. High SchoolMusical 3 Senior Year , which grossed only $1.7 million on Friday, cameracing back on Saturday to earn $8.2 million and finished the weekend withan estimated gross of $15 million, putting it again at the head of theclass. In second place was the Weinstein Co.'s Zack and Miri Make aPorno , >directed by Kevin Smith, which rose a stunning 124 percent fromFriday to Saturday, winding up with $10.7 million. Clint Eastwood's Changeling , starring Angelina Jolie moved into general release onFriday, posting a solid $9.4 million. It grossed $5,085 per theater -- thebest per theater results of any of the new films. In fact the competitionfor second place between Saw, Zack and Miri, and Changeling was so close that any one of them could end up in the place positionwhen final results are announced later today. "I'm calling this a dead heat,Universal distribution chief Nikki Rocco told Daily Variety .

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled byExhibitor Relations 1. High School Musical 3 Senior Year ,$15 million; 2 . Zack and Miri Make a Porno, $10.7 million; 3 . SawV , $10.1 million; 4. Changeling , $9.4 million; 5. The Hauntingof Molly Harvey , $6 million; 6. Beverly Hills Chihuahua , $4.7million; 7. The Secret Life of Bees , $4 million; 8. Max Payne ,$3.7 million; 9 . Eagle Eye , $3.4 million; 10 . Pride and Glor y,$3.3 million.

03/11/2008