Associated Press
February 22, 2010
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s voyage to “Shutter Island’’ has landed them at No. 1 at the weekend box office. Their creepy locally-shot crime thriller set at a remote insane asylum opened with $40.2 million, according to studio estimates yesterday.
A Paramount Pictures release, “Shutter Island’’ is the fourth collaboration for Scorsese and DiCaprio and the best opening yet for both the director and star. Scorsese’s previous personal best was $26.9 million with his 2006 Academy Awards champ “The Departed,’’ which also starred DiCaprio.
The biggest previous debut for DiCaprio was $30.1 million for 2002’s “Catch Me If You Can.’’ Roman Polanski’s thriller “The Ghost Writer,’’ which stars Ewan McGregor, got off to a big start in limited release, pulling in $179,000 at four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles for a whopping average of $44,750 a cinema.
That compares to a $13,440 average in 2,991 theaters for “Shutter Island.’’ The previous weekend’s top movie, the all-star romance “Valentine’s Day,’’ slipped to No. 2 with $17.2 million, falling a steep 69 percent from its $56.3 million debut. (AP)
Editor’s note: SHUTTER ISLAND was shot in Massachusetts in 2008.