Though there were no big releases this weekend, the box office was still up almost 9 percent compared to this time last year. This was a result of a series of strong holdovers, as well as two familiar new releases, bringing eager moviegoers to the theaters.

Taking the top spot for this weekend was TriStar’s new film, “Evil Dead,” with $25.8 million. The film is actually a remake of the 1981 cult classic film, “The Evil Dead,” which grossed only $2.4 million.

That being said, the question is still worth asking: How did “Evil Dead” take the top spot this weekend if the film has a cast of unfamiliar actors, audiences gave it a C+ on CinemaScore and the original had a small gross?

Well, first and foremost, a main reason the film had a strong opening was because TriStar, a division of Sony Pictures, capitalized on the original film’s cult following. The studio brought in the original producers — Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell — to produce the film, which pleased fans and generated buzz, not to mention guaranteed the new film would remain true to the original.

Though the original was released 32 years ago in 1981, TriStar’s decision to release the film now in 2013 was strategic because it introduces the horror classic to a new generation of viewers.

The C+ grade on CinemaScore will most likely affect word-of-mouth and hinder long-term growth. However, the grade is in line with most horror genre films, so TriStar should not be too worried. Plus, because of the strong $25.8 million opening, the film will be profitable, considering it had a modest production budget of $17 million.

The only other new release that cracked the top 10 this weekend was the 3-D debut of “Jurassic Park,” which came in fourth place with $18.6 million.

A main reason for the solid opening gross is the popularity of “Jurassic Park,” which remains one of the most profitable films of all time with $939 million worldwide. Steven Spielberg’s original resulted in two subsequent films and another on the way next year.

It is also worth commending the effort of Universal Pictures, which strategically planned this re-release. Instead of half-heartedly converting the film to 3-D for a quick profit, the studio spent $10 million on the conversion to 3-D and released it to mark the 20th anniversary of the original’s release. This made the re-release more celebratory, which fans appreciated.

— Written by Ian Tecklin, staff writer, ijteckli@syr.edu

Published on April 10, 2013 at 11:42 pm