Friday the 13th Shreds Up Box Office

In a piece of news that will either delight or disgust you, depending on how much of a horror movie purist you are, the new version of classic '80s shocker Friday the 13th has only gone and bloomin' broken a box office record in the USA.

Yes, by taking a stonking estimated $42.2 million over the weekend, the Marcus Nispel directed remake has scored the biggest opening EVER for a horror movie. And, at the time of writing, its well on its way to grabbing the best ever four day holiday (it was the Presidents Day weekend in the States) takings for an R-rated movie. It looks like Jason Voorhees has been well and truly resurrected in the hearts, minds and wallets of the cinema going public, so expect more Friday the 13th movies soon - particularly when you consider that the movie's budget was $19m, which it recouped in ticket sales on Friday (the 13th, of course) alone.

The rest of the weekends US Box office chart looked like this:

2 He's Just Not That Into You.
This romantic comedy starring Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore has taken $55.1m in its first 10 days of release - helped, no doubt, by all those girlfriends who refused to go see Friday the 13th on Valentine's Day.

3 Taken
This neat little thriller starring Liam Neeson, released in Britain last year is turning into something of a sleeper hit across the pond. It took $19.3, over the weekend, making its total US haul $77.9m

4 Confessions of a Shopaholic
Aussie actress Isla Fisher stars in this colourful Disney rom-com which took $15.4m on its opening weekend.

5 Coraline
The visually impressive stop motion 3-D family movie from Focus Features continued to do well at the box office, having taken $35.6 million in two weeks of release.

6 Paul Blart, Mall Cop
In its fourth week of release Sony's comedy starring Kevin James continues to pull in the laughs - and the cash - crossing the $100 million mark over the weekend.

7 The International
This Clive Owen / Naomi Watts corporate thriller didn't do as well as expected, taking an estimated $10m over its opening weekend. Sony don't mind though - they are confident the movie will do well overseas.

8 Pink Panther 2
After two weeks of release, this Steve Martin starring sequel has taken a total of $22.3m, with an estimated $9m of that being added to the coffers this weekend.

9 Slumdog MillionaireThe best British movie of the year so far stayed within the US top 10 this week, taking an estimated $7.2m from weekend audiences. That takes its American box office total to an impressive $86.5m.

10 Push
And finally, the Summit Entertainment thriller rounds off the chart, taking an estimated $6.9m in its second weekend.