“That,” being the Ethan
Hawke film The Purge.  The low budget /horror/suspense thriller, that
no one was paying attention to, shot to the top of this weekend’s Box office list, with an amazing $36.4 million.

Even more impressive was that the film was made for a bargain
basement $3 million, which means the
film made more than 10 and a half times its
production cost in less than three days. 

And just what was it about the film that made
people rush out to see it? It was just another variation of the home invasion terror
film that’s been done hundreds of times before such as, recently, The Strangers which was basically a
remake of the French thriller, Them. But what was it about The Purge that
clicked with filmgoers?

People are flummoxed, including myself.  Do you have any answers?

The two hour Google ad, also called The Internship, starring those two how-in-the-hell-did-these-guys-become-movie-stars movie stars, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson,
not surprisingly, had a lackluster opening, with $18 million.

Meanwhile, After Earth took a big hit and dropped nearly 60% , indicating that it’s pretty much over for the
film.

1) The Purge Uni. $36,379,000  2) Fast & Furious 6 Uni. $19,760,000 Total: $202,946,000  3) Now You See Me LG/S $19,500,000 otal: $61,374,000  4) The Internship Fox $18,100,000  5) Epic Fox $12,100,000 Total: $84,155,000  6) Star Trek Into Darkness Par. $11,700,000 Total: $200,140,000  7) After Earth Sony $11,200,000 Total: $46,592,000  8) The Hangover Part III WB $7,380,000 Total: $102,374,000  9) Iron Man 3 BV $5,787,000 Total: $394,316,000  10) The Great Gatsby  WB $4,230,000 Total: $136,175,000   11)  Mud RAtt. $1,209,000 Total: $18,600,000