Thirteen Proves Lucky at Box Office

It’s looking like Ocean’s Thirteen is this week’s big box office champion, a win for blithe, finger-snapping spryness in general, and a vindication of the PG-13 rating’s broad appeal, especially when stacked up against the PG-rated Surf’s Up and the hard R rating of Hostel: Part II. Pending final numbers and adjustments, Ocean’s Thirteen will reportedly pull in around $37 million for the weekend. Polling second is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which has to date now grossed over $250 million, with another $21 million or so this weekend. Last week’s top debut, Knocked Up, is only down 34 percent or so, ringing up another $20 million. Surf’s Up scored a robust $18 million bow, good for fourth place. The summer playing field proved less kind to Hostel: Part II, meanwhile. Playing in 2,350 theaters, the film averaged around $3,700 per screen, and should pull in around $8.8 million for the three-day frame, which is only slightly more than a then less-known Eli Roth‘s 2003 film Cabin Fever. Last year, in January,  the first Hostel opened to $19.5 million on slightly less screens. A sign of the horror genre’s loosening grip? Perhaps, but more likely an indication that seasonal slotting matters quite a bit for certain pictures.