Musical Belts Out Record Opening

Runner-up Saw V far ahead of rest of the field
By Gabriel Winant,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 26, 2008 6:19 PM CDT
Musical Belts Out Record Opening
In this image released by Universal Pictures, Angelina Jolie is shown in a scene from "Changeling."   (AP Photo/Universal Pictures, Tony Rivetti, Jr.)

Sweetness and gore dominated the box office this week, reports Variety. High School Musical 3 bopped off with $42 million, having the best opening ever for a musical. Runner-up Saw V, with $30.5 million, still chopped the rest of the field down to size. The box office take was up 30% from a year ago, the studios estimate, because there was little overlap between the audiences for the top-earners.

Max Payne was a distant third-placer with $7.6 million, followed by Pride and Glory’s $6.3 and W.’s $5.3. Kidnapping-flick Changeling ran off with a huge $502,000 from only 15 screens. (More box office stories.)

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