“Shutter Island” drives moviegoers crazy
Insanity prevailed at the weekend box office in North America as Martin Scorsese's suspense thriller "Shutter Island" opened at No. 1 with better-than-expected sales, its distributor said on Sunday.
The Paramount Pictures release sold an estimated $40.2 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada since launching on Friday, setting personal bests for both the director and his long-time collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio.
The actor stars in the $75 million picture as a federal marshal stranded at a prison hospital for the criminally insane off the coast of Massachusetts in 1954. Pundits had forecast an opening in the $25 million to $30 million range.
The picture was supposed to come out last October in time for awards season. But cash-strapped Paramount stunned the industry last August when by announcing a delay until 2010 because the studio did not have enough money to promote it.
The Viacom Inc unit instead devoted its Oscar marketing dollars to "The Lovely Bones," which received only one nomination for the March 7 awards show, and to six-time nominee "Up in the Air," which is only likely to pick up an Oscar in the adapted screenplay category, Hollywood insiders say.
Scorsese's previous opening record was $26 million for "The Departed" in 2006. The crime drama went on to make $132 million domestically, and netted Scorsese the first Oscar of his career. DiCaprio's old record was $30 million for "Catch Me If You Can" in 2002.
Last weekend's champion, director Garry Marshall's romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," slipped to No. 2 with $17.6 million; the film, from Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros., has earned $87.4 million after 10 days.
All-time box office king "Avatar" rose one spot to No. 3 with $16.1 million, taking its total to $687.8 million. James Cameron's sci-fi smash should hit $700 million next weekend, said its News Corp-owned distributor 20th Century Fox.
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