Arts & Entertainment
 

Zombies come for box office mastery

After three weeks, Jesus falls behind otherworldly things

By Zach Lee
The Daily Cougar

All the controversy sparked by Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ seems unfounded. After two thousand years of questionable answers, it's finally clear -- the Jews didn't kill Jesus, zombies did. 

Dawn of the Dead, the remake of George Romero's cult classic horror movie, stormed into first place with sales more than $27 million, already covering the film's $26 million budget. 

Gibson's Passion slipped into second place after spending three weekends on top. The film's $295.3 million earnings amount to nearly half of all-time box office leader Titanic's $600.7 million. Titanic spent 26 weeks in the top 10 list before dropping to No. 11.

Angelina Jolie's crime thriller Taking Lives opened at No. 3, rounding out a top three of R-rated films, something rare in an age of increasing media regulations. 

Cop-buddy film Starsky and Hutch waltzed down into fourth place, and Johnny Depp's thriller Secret Window fell three places to No. 5.

No. 6 went to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a film that puts Jim Carrey into a rare dramatic role. The film played in less than half of the theaters that other newcomers played, a move made by producers hoping to garner good word of mouth for the film. Aficionados of the film's screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, are looking for a film as strong as Kaufman's Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.

Hidalgo slowed down to seventh place, and Frankie Muniz decided to fix what ain't broke when he reprised his role as Cody Banks in Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London. In its second weekend, and in eighth place, the film is just another indicator that Muniz should stick with Malcolm in the Middle. 

The No. 9 hole was filled by the admirable staying power of 50 First Monday, March 22, 2004s, and No. 10 went to Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.

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