It’s official – Cloverfield is a monster hit. The JJ Abrams-produced city-smasher took in over $41 million in its first weekend according to studio estimates, taking over from the $35.9 million haul for the Special Edition of Star Wars in 1997 as the most successful January US opening ever. So it looks like that clever internet campaign paid dividends, sending people wild to know what the monster looked like.
Overall, the top-12 movies took $135.3 million, up 39 percent from the same weekend last year.
The top 10 in full was:
1 Cloverfield $41 million
2 27 Dresses $22.4 million
3 The Bucket List $15.2 million
4 Juno $10.3 million
5 National Treasure: Book of Secrets $8.1 million
6 First Sunday $7.8 million
7 Mad Money $7.7 million
8 Alvin and the Chipmunks $7 million
9 I Am Legend $5.1 million
10 Atonement $4.8 million
It’s also worth noting that I Am Legend continues to do strong business after six weeks and is now near the $250 million mark in the US (and over $500 million worldwide).
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