Box Office: 'Final Destination' stuns industry by overperforming to $28 million

Bobby Campo does his best to save a co-star from death in "The Final Destination."

Credit: Warner Bros.

3-D may really save the movie industry.

Most horror films have significant drops between Friday and Saturday on their opening weekends after the hardcore fans move on, but in a massive surprise "The Final Destination" fell only 6.3% to finish with a 3-day estimate of $28 million.  That's higher than tracking or Friday's debut indicated and could be conservative after Monday's final numbers are revealed.  Reports indicate that 70% of the from 3-D theaters so, yes, look for even more 3-D horror on the way. Overall, it's still a shocking and pleasant surprise for Warner Bros. considering this sequel in the long-running franchise was originally intended just for home video.

Coming in a just as surprising second with another $20 million was last week's champ "Inglourious Basterds."  Quentin Tarantino's latest has already made $73 million overall and the fact the magic $100 million mark is not out of reach is amazing for a picture many thought dead after its disappointing debut at this year's Cannes Film Festival. If this weekend's numbers reveal anything though, its that older audiences are looking for something a little different at their local theater these days and "Basterds" fits the bill.  A small end of summer rose for both The Weinstein Company and Universal Studios who split returns on the film 50/50.

Finding a disappointing $17 million and the third slot is Rob Zombie's "Halloween 2."  The Weinstein Company may have made a mistake going up against "Final Destination 3-D" as this sequel to the 2007 reboot of the Michael Meyers franchise won't come close to its $26 million opening and surprising $58 million gross. 

Fourth place with another $10.7 million was "District 9" as its cume hit $90 million.  The critically acclaimed Sci-Fi thriller should pass $100 million over the upcoming Labor Day Weekend.

Knocking Friday's fifth placer "Julie & Julia" to sixth was "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra" which found another $8 million to bring it's U.S. returns to $132 million.

Other openers including Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock" which took in only $3.7 million from 1,393 theaters and ninth place.  Even with the low theater count that has to be a tad disappointing for Focus Features who no doubt found selling a 70s themed comedy more difficult than they expected.

Already out of the media spotlight is "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," but the sixth installment in the popular franchise is about to become only the second one to gross over $300 million.  "Half-Blood" is currently at $294 million and should shoot past $300 million over the next few weeks.  Only the first film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" has reached that mark so far with $317 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Box Office Mojo. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Final Destination," $28.3 million.

2. "Inglourious Basterds," $20 million, $73 million to date.

3. "Halloween II," $17.4 million.

4. "District 9," $10.7 million, $90 million to date.

5. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," $8 million, $132 million to date.

6. "Julie & Julia," $7.4 million, $70 million to date.

7. "The Time Traveler's Wife," $6.7 million, $48.1 million to date.

8. "Shorts," $4.9 million, $13.5 million to date.

9. "Taking Woodstock," $3.7 million.

10. "G-Force," $2.8 million, $111 million to date.