It may be tempting to rend your garments and bemoan the current state of cinema when the top grossing film of the weekend is a badly recycled horror retread (Prom Night, which brought in $22.7 million), but just remember, it's prom season and teens (as a demographic) generally have terrible, terrible taste in movies. Plus, the multiplex isn't exactly teeming with other, worthier options.
Picking up the opposite end of the demographic spectrum, the tepid Keanu Reeves cop thriller Street Kings did about half of Prom Night's numbers with $12 million; but it was enough to keep the unexpectedly popular 21 (at No. 3 this weekend) from going for a three-peat at the top spot. The weekend's other sorta-big release, Smart People, received a lukewarm reception, coming in at No. 7 with $4.2 million.
The rest of the box-office list is littered with the flotsam and jetsam of a heretofore unremarkable movie season: Superhero Movie, Drillbit Taylor, and 10,000 B.C. are all still hanging out in the top 10, their collective might unable to keep total box-office receipts from once again trailing last year's numbers (which have been down eight out of the last nine weeks). Seriously Hollywood, this is getting depressing–can we please have our summer movie season now?
More detailed numbers can be found at boxoficemojo.com.