Dr. Seuss ruled the box office this weekend as the best adaptation of a Seussian book to ever grace the screen rolled into theaters. With an opening total of $45 million, Horton Hears A Who enjoyed the biggest weekend opening of the year to date. As far as I'm concerned, it couldn't have happened to a better movie.
So far 2008 has been chock-filled with disappointment. The handful of films that have actually been worth the trip the theater haven't gotten the cash returns they deserved while the crap has generally floated to the top of the top ten. It's nice to see a quality movie getting its due.
Speaking of crap, Never Back Down came in number three. With only $8.6 million its a thankfully far cry from Horton's $45 million, but it's still more than the disaster of a movie deserved. With a $20 million budget there's no doubt that the movie is destined for franchise-land. I guess a weekend with nothing but good news would have been too much to hope for.
Doomsday opened at seventh place with less than $5 million. That's a step back for writer/director Neil Marshall whose last effort, The Descent, opened with $8 million. Not good news given that his next project, a sequel to The Descent, is due out next year.
