In this economy, it's no fun to look for work, so this weekend Josh Navarro tried to distract himself by seeing a movie. He picked something even scarier than the job market: "Friday the 13th."
So did thousands of other people, as a splashy remake of the gory 1980 movie performed better at the box office than any other previous slasher film.
"Friday the 13th" brought in $42.2 million, and its box-office sales have helped make this the highest-grossing Presidents Day weekend ever. And that doesn't even include today's numbers. Total box office receipts for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are expected to be $190 million, up 38.5% from last year.
"It's a nice escape, a way to forget about it all," said Navarro, who lives in Silver Lake and is looking for a job in a restaurant or movie theater. He also saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic" this weekend at a matinee to save money.
Warner Bros.' romantic comedy "He's Just Not That Into You" came in second at the box office this weekend with $19.6 million in its second week in theaters. It was a big weekend for Warner Bros., which had the top two films.
"We're rolling," said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution at Warner Bros. "We had a really great weekend at Camp Warner."
The Liam Neeson thriller "Taken," from 20th Century Fox, came in third, pulling in $19.3 million.
Things may be worrisome these days, but that's been a boon to the movie industry as people flock to the cinema for a distraction. Last month was the first January ever to generate $1 billion at the box office, and this year's revenue to date is up 22.2% over last year. Even the typically slow Super Bowl weekend nearly set a record this year.
"Going to the movies is still considered something that's not an exorbitant expenditure, even as people are dialing back their costs," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking firm Media by Numbers.
Valentine's Day also helped boost box-office numbers this weekend, as infrequent moviegoers saw films on dates. Jay and Cesia Oliva, for instance, went to see "He's Just Not That Into You" at the Americana at Brand in Glendale. They were treating themselves to one of the only movies they've seen since the birth of their daughter 11 months ago.
