Cloverfield‘s giant, computer-generated monster was tough enough to destroy New York City, but holding onto the top spot at the box office proved a more difficult task. The film saw a steep 68% drop in attendance in its second week while 20th Century Fox’s silly spoof flick, Meet the Spartans, etched out a narrow win over Lionsgate’s Rambo.
Using relatively unknown actors and a cinema verite production style, JJ Abrams and the other producers of Cloverfield were able to make Cloverfield for a meager $25 million, with most of the budget going to visual effects work by Tippett Studio and Double Negative. The film has made approximately $64.3 million domestically and is starting earn some bank overseas. Foreign receipts stand at around $15 million with many territories yet to open the pic.
The sword-and-sandal epic 300 and just about every other movie released in the past 15 months get skewered in Meet the Spartans, the latest gonzo spoof from Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg, the writers and directors behind the hugely successful Scary Movie franchise and its offshoots, Date Movie and Epic Movie. The flick earned an estimated $18.7 million to claim the top spot. Rambo followed closely with approximately $18.1 million.
In its second week, the 20th Century Fox romantic comedy 27 Dresses slipped a notch to No. 3 with around $13.6 million, while Cloverfield took in an estimated $12.7 million for a fourth-place finish. The Sony Screen Gems cyber thriller Untraceable debuted at No. 5 with around $11.2 million.
