BOX OFFICE: 3:10 TO YUMA snails it's way to first in a slow weekend

3:10 to Yuma was a success. For a genre that hasn't had an old school gunslinging Western in four years, for 3:10 to Yuma to ride it's way to first place - the first time that has happened in the genre since Unforgiven in 1992 - then that's a success right? Well maybe not. Open Range was the last Western of this type and back in 2003 that movie opened to a $16 million taking (with inflation), with less buzz than Yuma and with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall, two actors who at the time you could hardly say were at the top of their popularity. Astonishingly, that movie went on to make $66 million and I don't think anyone can honestly tell me they expect Yuma to have the same legs to get to that total. Yuma had Russell Crowe, Christian Bale - the director of the mega hit Walk the Line - superb reviews - great trailer, but it hasn't found an audience that will get studio's rushing out looking for writers to scribe Westerns again. You really have to wonder what type of movie it would take to break the $20 million barrier. There may also be a case of bad timing here as the movie at one stage was talked about as a January type awards-release. A one where it would stay in theatres as it got it's Oscar buzz which always helps the legs of a movie but they were scared off by The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and a post-Labor day weekend was decided upon, which historically is a quiet one. The other big new release of the weekend opened to big disappointment. Shoot 'Em Up starring Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci & Paul Giamatti, opened to $5.5 million and fifth place. Director Michael Davis tried something a little different here - he went with a video game like style and a really over-the-top and stylistic action movie but it seems audiences didn't care for the idea of it. Although those that have seen it, rate it well. Lastly, Halloween dropped 62% in audience numbers but because it's such a slow week, it's $10 million opening was enough to finish in second place. The movie has now made $44 million in ten days, more than enough for a sequel I'm afraid. 1 3:10 to Yuma (2007) $14.1M $14.1M 2 Halloween (2007) $10M $44.2M 3 Superbad (2007) $8M $104M 4 Balls of Fury (2007) $5.69M $24.3M 5 The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) $5.48M $210M 6 Shoot 'Em Up (2007) $5.45M $5.45M 7 Rush Hour 3 (2007) $5.33M $129M 8 Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) $3.39M $25.1M 9 The Nanny Diaries (2007) $3.32M $21M 10 Hairspray (2007) $1.95M $115M OPENING NEXT WEEK: Eastern Promises, The Brave One, The Hunting Party, Mr. Woodcock,Across the Universe, In the Valley of Elah (limited) Dragon Wars: D-War (limited), Silk (limited), December Boys (limited) Fierce People (limited), Moving McAllister (limited), Ira and Abbey (limited) source - box office mojo, imdb