'Prom Night' makes a smashing box-office debut

LOS ANGELES - Audiences made a date with "Prom Night," helping the remake of the 1980 slasher flick debut as the weekend's No. 1 movie, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The movie, starring Brittany Snow as a teen terrorized by a psycho killer on prom night, overcame a drubbing by critics to take in $22.7 million. Most fright films have a built-in audience that often turns out regardless of reviews.

"Audiences today, they're so savvy in regards to what they want to see or don't want to see. Particularly a younger audience, they pretty much make up their own mind," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, which put out "Prom Night" through its Screen Gems division.

Opening in second was "Street Kings," a cop drama starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker that took in $12 million. The new movies bumped "21," which fell to third place with $11 million after two weekends at No. 1. The blackjack tale has made $62.3 million in three weeks.

Hollywood's box office doldrums continued, with the top 12 movies taking in $82.6 million, down 16 percent from the same weekend last year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1. "Prom Night," $22.7 million

2. "Street Kings," $12 million

3. "21," $11 million

4. "Nim's Island," $9 million

5. "Leatherheads," $6.2 million

6. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!", $6 million

7. "Smart People," $4.2 million

8. "The Ruins," $3.3 million

9. "Superhero Movie," $3.1 million

10. "Drillbit Taylor," $2.1 million