Buzz at the Box Office: As ‘Cold Light of Day’ Crumbles, ‘Possession’ Keeps Hold

Posted September 10, 2012, 4:22 pm   •   by Todd Gilchrist   •   0 comments

After the Oogieloves movie achieved infamy last week as the lowest-grossing wide opener of all time, the box office failed to rebound as two debuting wide releases fizzled and The Possession squeaked out an unimpressive victory in the Number One spot.

Lionsgate’s horror film, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick, earned $9.5 million, bringing its cumulative total to $33.3 million.

Meanwhile, The Cold Light of Day, starring future Superman Henry Cavill, Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis, grossed $1.8 million (debuting in 13th place) after Summit released it without screening it for critics (which is never a good sign).

Which 31-year-old movie almost beat its numbers at the box office?

1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in IMAX over the weekend in just 267 theaters – occupying less than a fifth of the screens that The Cold Light of Day did – and it earned $1.75 million.

Back at Number Two, Lawless’ expansion to 250 more screens didn’t significantly improve its performance. The period crime drama took in $6 million, bringing its theatrical total to $23.5 million.

Bradley Cooper's The Words was the weekend’s only new release to crack the Top Ten at Number Three, with an underwhelming $5 million in receipts. The Expendables 2 followed close behind at Number Four with $4.75 million, bringing its cumulative gross to more than $75 million.

And The Bourne Legacy brought in just shy of $4 million at Number Five, earning $103 million to date.

Collectively, the box office seems likely to bring in $65-67 million in revenues, which will be the worst performance since the weekend of September 21-23, 2001, just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Take a look at the trailer for The Possession: