Paramount Pictures’ giant monster movie, Cloverfield, scared up an estimated $46 million domestically since opening on Friday, scoring the biggest Martin Luther King holiday weekend gross, and the biggest January opening in history. The romantic comedy 27 Dresses from 20th Century Fox proved an enticing alternative to death and destruction as it raked in a respectable $27.2 million over the four-day period.
Tippet Studio and Double Negative handled the lion’s share of visual effects work for Cloverfield, which is shot mostly with a hand-held video camera as a shutterbug among a group of twenty-something friends document’s a horrific attack on New York City. The promise of a new twist on a B-movie staple and a clever marketing campaign clearly paid off. Foreign business should be huge as the film rolls out in key overseas markets over the next couple of weeks.
The weekend’s only other wide opener, Mad Money, took in an estimated $9.2 million for Overture Films. The female heist movie starring Katie Holmes, Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah came ran a neck-to-neck race for seventh place with Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks, which is nearing the $200 mark domestically.
Warenr Bros.’ The Bucket List dropped two notches to No. 3 with around $16.1 million. Fox Searchlight’s Juno slipped to No. 4 with approximately $12 million, while Sony ScreenGems’ First Sunday finished out the top five with an estimated $9.4 million.
