The Amityville Horror tops US box-office

Proving once again that fans have an insatiable hunger for horror films, the newest haunted house saga The Amityville Horror psyched about $23 million in three days across North America.

Made for about $20 million, this is the kind of film that would be profitable in a few weeks from the theatrical run alone, even if it were to tumble by 60 percent, as it happens in the case of most horror films.

The first Amityville film made more than two and half decades ago was partly inspired by a book by Jay Anson which claimed to tell the true story of the Lutz family that moved into a large Dutch Colonial home in Amityville, Long Island, in 1975, a year after a young man went berserk there and killed his entire family with a rifle. The Lutzes stayed in the house for less than a month and left it after horrifying experiences.

In the new film, George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds) and his wife Kathy (Melissa George), who has three youngsters by her late first husband, move into the haunted house. The adults are aware of the house's dangerous legacy but George shrugs it off, thinking 'there are no bad houses -- only bad people.'

But he and his family soon face the diabolic menace.

Amityville, like most horror films, left the critics cold. In the influential trade publication Hollywood Reporter, Kirk Honeycutt complained that the 'remake of the old haunted house movie is shorter and punchier but nearly as hokey as the original.'

With Amityville occupying the top place and the successful comedy Beauty Shop at the sixth, MGM has two movies on the top 10 chart, rare for a studio that has been hit-starved for a long time. Ironically, the studio was sold to Sony a few weeks ago.

Last week's champ, Sahara, was at second spot, having lost about 28 percent of its clout. But analysts had expected it to lose much more. The adventure drama, which cost $100 million plus, could end its run with about $75 million in North America. Its profitability rests on its international run -- it has opened to stronger numbers in Europe -- and the DVD sales six months from now.

Some movies earn much more in DVD sales than through the theatrical run. Recently, the Oscar-winning Ray ended its run in the North American theatres with $75 million, a decent amount for a $35 million film. It grossed about $150 million (and still counting) through DVD and VHS sale and rentals.

The romantic drama Fever Pitch, the third film on the chart, is also showing decent legs. It came down by just 29 percent and is headed for a $42-$45 million final which is not all that bad considering the Drew Barrymore movie cost just 30 million.

Sin City, which received far better reviews than Sahara and Amityville, was at fourth position, having grossed $6.7 million in its third weekend. It is sinking fast but even then the film, which cost $40 million, is headed for a healthy $70 million gross and may become profitable from its ancillary income including the DVD sale, not to forget its take worldwide.

The interracial comedy Guess Who is still making thousands laugh. At fifth position, it grossed a healthy $4.9 million, pushing its three weeks' cume to $57 million.

Showing awesome strength in a limited release, the Chinese adventure comedy Kung Fu Hustle grossed about $2,64,000 in its second weekend, coming down by just about 7 percent. Coming Friday, it will add hundreds of theatres, and the movie which is now at the 20th place on the chart has a good chance of knocking into the top 12.

The box-office will warm up considerably the next week due to the political thriller The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, and the Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet romantic comedy A Lot Like Love in which Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) also has a part.

One of the busiest actors in Hollywood, Penn, who is playing the lead in Mira Nair's The Namesake, will be seen in several independent and mainstream films before the year ends.

If The Interpreter gets respectable reviews and does decent business, it will be a career boost to director Sydney Pollack. The 71-year-old filmmaker, whose hits include Tootsie, Out Of Africa and Absence Of Malice, hasn't had a success since the 1993 thriller The Firm.

Box-office estimates for North America