In Hollywood, parody is serious business.
Twentieth Century Fox's "Meet the Spartans," a spoof of "300" and other swords-and-sandals epics, topped the weekend box office in the U.S. and Canada with estimated sales of $18.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The New Regency Pictures production, made on a budget of $18 million, opened at the upper end of expectations and edged out Lions Gate Films and Weinstein Co.'s "Rambo" for No. 1. It looks like another modestly budgeted hit from the team behind "Date Movie" and "Epic Movie," similar comedies.
Young fans made the difference. An estimated 75% of the crowds at the PG-13-rated "Meet the Spartans" were younger than 25.
"The kids want to laugh, and they like these parodies because they know the movies being spoofed so well," said Bert Livingston, Fox's senior vice president of distribution.
"Meet the Spartans" -- written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, who also helped write the first "Scary Movie" -- poked fun not only at last year's Spartan battle saga "300" but also at "Spider-Man," "You Got Served" and pop-culture phenomena such as paparazzi.
Fox's romantic comedy "27 Dresses," starring Katherine Heigl, held up firmly in its second weekend to place third with an estimated $13.6 million, down 41% from its debut. Last weekend's box-office champ, Paramount Pictures' monster movie "Cloverfield," plunged 68% from its record-setting holiday weekend to finish fourth with $12.7 million.
The Friedberg-Seltzer comedies have been remarkably consistent performers.
"Date Movie" and "Epic Movie" both opened at about $19 million and ended up grossing $80 million to $90 million worldwide.
The fourth film in the "Rambo" series drew audiences that were two-thirds male, as expected.
Lions Gate and Weinstein were encouraged that the R-rated "Rambo," produced for slightly less than $50 million by Nu Image Inc., also attracted teens and young adults. Crowds were estimated at 50% under age 25.
"This augurs well for another chapter in the 'Rambo' story," said Weinstein Co. co-founder Harvey Weinstein, an executive producer on the film.
If the movie's 61-year-old star, writer and director, Sylvester Stallone, decides to make a fifth "Rambo" movie, it could unfold stateside, like the 1982 original, "First Blood," rather than mostly overseas as the last three installments have, Weinstein said.
