Posted 09.01.10 by Ryan Horror fans had to rejoice when they saw that the Eli Roth-produced The Last Exorcism ended its opening weekend in the top spot at the box office. It's not often that a horror movie is number one across the country, but unfortunately for horror fans, last weekend wasn't one of those rare occurrences.
The New York Times reports that, in fact, it was Takers that won the weekend. Box Office Mojo's weekend box office chart confirms the report, with Takers' $20.51 million winning by a slim margin over The Last Exorcism's $20.36 million.
The weekend box office grosses reported on Sunday nights are calculated by adding together Friday's and Saturday's numbers with the studios' best guess of Sunday's grosses. Sometimes, as evidenced by this weekend, those guesses are wrong.
The Last Exorcism did win the battle of critics with Takers receiving poor reviews while Exorcism's reviews were much more favorable. But when it comes to audiences, America prefers hunky dudes pulling off a crime or two just slightly more than the twisting and bending possession of a young woman living on a farm.