‘Resident Evil’ No. 1 at Box Office
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The undead came alive once more over the weekend as “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” debuted at no.1 at the box office, bringing in $23.7 million.
The sequel to 2002’s “Resident Evil,” based on a video-game series about shooting apart shuffling, bio-poisoned zombie attackers, follows hits like last year’s remake of “Dawn of the Dead” and the zombie art-house thriller “28 Days Later,” which reinvigorated the genre. Overall, however, it was a slow week for new releases as most kids headed back to school and the big budget blockbusters of summer evaporated in favor of B-movie-style thrillers and monster movies.
The suspense drama “Cellular,” with Kim Basinger as a kidnapping victim who makes a random phone call to a cell phone and pleads with a stranger to find her, opened at no. 2 with $10.6 million.
“‘Cellular’ did okay, but every other movie was just treading water behind ‘Resident Evil,'” said the president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co., Paul Dergarabedian.
“Resident Evil: Apocalypse” stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, a bath-towel wearing, butt-kicking security chief who tries to help a group of survivors escape a zombified metropolis before the city of ghouls is annihilated by a nuclear strike. With its miniskirted heroines and gooey guts-a-plenty, “Apocalypse” appealed mainly to guys under the age of 25.
