‘District 9′ Takes No. 1 on Box Office Charts
Amazingly, ‘District 9′, a low-budget film about aliens, took the top spot at the box office this weekend with an estimated $27 million in sales. The movie, costing only $30 million to make, is R-rated and about a spacecraft that stalls over Johannesburg.
‘District 9′ is produced by Peter Jackson, who also did ‘Lord of the Rings’, and the director was Neill Blomkamp, whose most experience is in the visual effects department. Sony saw an opportunity with the film, and acquired the rights to distribute it, backing ‘District 9′ with unusual advertising that encouraged people to call a toll-free number in order to report strange, nonhuman activity, which resulted in thousands of calls.
Rory Bruer, the president of worldwide distribution, said that there was a fan-base film, but now it’s turning into a film for everyone. ‘District 9′ is much more than a science fiction thriller, he added.
Meanwhile, ‘G.I. Joe’ by Paramount took the second spot at the box office with about $22.5 million in sales, accumulating to $98.8 million. ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ from Warner Bros. came in third and had about $19 million in ticket sales for its debut weekend, which is a disappointing figure since the film is based on a best-selling novel. ‘Julie & Julia’, another inexpensive dramatic comedy from Sony, took the fourth spot with about $12.4 million, accumulating $43.7 million, while ‘G-Force’ from Disney, came in fifth with an estimated $6.9 million, totaling $99 million.
Other films at the box office that made their weekend debuts include: ‘The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard’ from Paramount Vantage, ‘Ponyo’ from Disney, and ‘Bandslam’ from Summit Entertainment.