‘Grudge 2’ scares up No. 1 debut weekend with $22 million

LOS ANGELES – Early Halloween spirit gripped movie audiences as the fright flick “The Grudge 2” debuted at No. 1, taking in $22 million during its first weekend.
Sony’s horror sequel bumped the previous weekend’s top film, the Warner Bros. release “The Departed,” to second place. “The Departed,” a mob epic from Martin Scorsese, took in $18.7 million, lifting its 10-day total to $56.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred in the 2004 hit “The Grudge,” returns for a cameo in the sequel, which features Amber Tamblyn as her sister, haunted by the same angry spirits introduced in the first movie.
“The Grudge 2” was not screened for critics beforehand, and those who did review it on opening day generally trashed the movie. Fright flicks tend to have a built-in audience of horror fans who show up opening weekend regardless of reviews.
With a strong hold from its opening weekend, “The Departed” is on its way to becoming Scorsese’s biggest hit. The film is expected to surpass the $102.6 million gross of his 2004 drama “The Aviator,” said Dan Fellman head of distribution for Warner Bros.
The overall box office soared, with the top 12 movies taking in $100.8 million, up 41 percent from the same weekend last year, when “The Fog” debuted at No. 1 with $11.8 million.