1. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” ($15.8 million)
2. “How To Train Your Dragon” ($2.6 million)
3. “Date Night” ($2.5 million)
4. “The Back-Up Plan” ($2.4 million)
5. “The Losers” ($1.9 million)
One, two, Freddy’s coming for you — well, really just one, as the big screen return of the clawed dream stalker catapulted the “Nightmare on Elm Street” remake to first place at the box office on Friday with a $15.8 million haul, more than $10 million ahead of all the other weekend competitors.
Starring Jackie Earle Haley in the nightmarish role originally played by Robert Englund, “Nightmare on Elm Street” earned an impressive $1.6 million from midnight showings on Thursday alone, according to Deadline Hollywood Daily. Those numbers earn “Nightmare” the record for best midnight opening for a horror movie, previously held by the “Friday the 13th” remake in 2009 with $1 million.
Judging by Friday’s performance, Krueger’s comeback could easily bring home over $30 million by the end of the weekend. Such a result would be quite impressive not only because of the film’s reported $35 million production budget, but also because “Nightmare” has received a rather harsh lashing from critics with a current 15% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Coming in second place was “How To Train Your Dragon,” DreamWorks Animation’s latest family film with so much proven staying power that the company has already arranged for a sequel, television series, arena show and online virtual world.
“Date Night” and “The Back-Up Plan” came in third and fourth place with $2.5 million and $2.4 million respectively, while “The Losers” snagged the fifth place slot with $1.9 million.
Brendan Fraser’s incoming “Furry Vengeance” won’t get its revenge, landing softly in sixth place with only $1.7 million.
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