Weekend B-O turns lacklustre

Weak Start for Day The Earth Stood Still

IT was meant to be THE movie to spark off the Christmas holiday bustle but sci-fi remake 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', stalled compared to last year's sci-fi remake, 'I Am Legend', which opened on the same weekend. Overall business was down more than 40 percent.

Boxofficemojo reported that 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' generated a placid US$30.5 million on about 5,900 screens at 3,560 compared to 'I Am Legend's US$77.2 million last year. The remake of the 1951 sci-fi drama, which distributor 20th Century Fox claimed cost a relatively modest US$80 million to produce, also had much less impact than such similar pictures as 'The Day After Tomorrow', 'War of the Worlds' and 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'.

The rest of the line-up, according to Box-officemojo, is as follows:

No 2 Four Christmases made US$13.0m (total $87.7) in 3rd week;

No 3 Twilight added US$7.9m (total US$150m) in 4th week

No 4 Bolt made US$7.4m (total US$88.8m) in 4th week

No 5 Australia made US$4.1 (total US$37.7m) in 3rd week

No 6 Quantum Of Solace did US$3.7 (total US$157,5m) in 5th week

No 7 Nothing Like The Holidays opened at US$3.5m

No 8 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa US$3.1m (total US$169.96m) in 5th week

No 9 Milk curdled at US$2.6m (total US$7.5m) in 3rd week

No 10 Transporter 3 did US$2.3m (total US$29.3m in 3rd week.