BOX OFFICE: SPIDEY drops 60% but is still top, 28 WEEKS LATER disappoints

SPIDER-MAN 3 takes a nose dive and 28 WEEKS LATER under-performs and could end the franchise.

By Matt Holmes /

Spider-Man 3 dropped a worrying 60% in it's box office takenings, on the weekend it became the biggest hit of 2007 so far. The movie took in $60 million, $11 million less than the original Spider-Man which recieved far superior buzz and reviews... giving it longer box office legs in it's second week and beyond. However, the total dominance of the global wide release, means after only 10 days, the movie has made $621.7 million worldwide, which is over twice it's inflated budget. Things should really start slowing down now for Spidey though... as next week Shrek the Third is released, then Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End just a week later. Elsewhere, the biggest new release of the week 28 Weeks Later failed to make any impact. Despite great reviews and the popularity of the original, 28 Weeks Later made only $10 million, just like 28 Days Later did in 2002. Although the amount is about right for a zombie flick, I think they were expecting around $5-7 million more with the fanbase 28 Days Later generated from DVD sales, etc. Georgia Rule opened at number 3. This is the movie that Lindsay Lohan was blasted by Morgan Creek Productions, when the studio accused her of acting like a "spoiled child" and called her "unprofessional" because of her constant attitude and partying. In the end, the film made $5.8 million and is a flop. Remember the movie Fast Track, starring Zach Braff, Amanda Peet and Jason Bateman? That movie was meant to come out early in 2007, but was pushed back (we thought) because of a lack of advertising. Then it got a strange name change to The Ex, and was finally released to EVEN LESS buzz, which is so strange. I didn't think the movie looked that bad (trailer here), but it's ended up opening at 12th on it's opening weekend. What the hell happened with this flick? There is no way by the looks of the trailer... it should have opened at anything less than 5th or 6th. 1 Spider-Man 3 (2007) $60M $242M 2 28 Weeks Later (2007) $10M $10M 3 Georgia Rule (2007) $5.88M $5.88M 4 Disturbia (2007) $4.81M $66.3M 5 Delta Farce (2007) $3.5M $3.5M 6 Fracture (2007) $2.9M $31M 7 The Invisible (2007) $2.2M $15.5M 8 Hot Fuzz (2007) $1.65M $18.9M 9 Next (2007) $1.6M $14.6M 10 Meet the Robinsons (2007) $1.6M $94.1M OPENING NEXT WEEK: Shrek the Third, Fay Grim (limited), The Wendell Baker Story (limited), Once (limited), Even Money (limited), Severance (limited). source - box office mojo, imdb