Friday Box Office: Shocking Nightmare
No, you aren't dreaming. That is the reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street sitting atop the box office chart today with a ridiculous $15 million Friday night gross -- a horror genre record $1.6 million of which came from midnight screenings on Thursday. For reference, that's more than the rest of the top-ten grossed combined. However if you think Elm Street proves audiences will literally see anything with a suffocating marketing campaign, there's Furry Vengeance. The Brendan Fraser disaster opened with a Monkeybone-like $2 million on Friday to land in fifth. At least some people still have standards. The top-five ahead.
1. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: $15,000,000 (new)
2. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: $2,400,000 ($183,900,000)
3. DATE NIGHT: $2,300,000 ($68,300,000)
4. THE BACK-UP PLAN: $2,300,000 ($18,000,000)
5. FURRY VENGEANCE: $2,000,000 (new)
[Deadline]
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Comments
I totally saw it, and it was worse than I was prepared for it to be (and I thought I was pretty well prepared). In my defense, the "suffocating marketing campaign" had nothing to do with my interest in seeing it: I don't have cable or get any channels on my TV, and the film was not advertised at all (on my regular routes) in the subway system or other places where I see advertising daily.
So why did you go? You were warned!
I know! That helped me brace myself for it, but I just _had to_ see it. Craven's original has always been one of my favorite of the first wave of slashers. Maybe that was all the more reason not to see it? I just knew I wouldn't be satisfied until I could see for myself, and I am not patient enough to wait for DVD release.
Just as I predicted, I loved it, from beginning to end. Everyone was jumping, screaming, clapping, I was in heaven. And that ending was incredible. I love the original, but sorry to say, this ending was way better and scarier. Even the story was great and Freddy being a child molester made him a more interesting and sicker character. Jackie was amazing as Freddy and the cast did an awesome job as well. Pretty much nothing really bothered me except that I wish it was longer. I will be seeing it again. Thanks PD and especially to Samuel Bayer for making this incredible film. Now on to the sequel!