2005 is turning into a strange year for movies. Big-name, super-expensive flicks like The Island have performed badly, while a documentary about a penguin having a bit of a stroll has smashed the box office apart.

The Exorcism Of Emily Rose has continued that trend. A simple courtroom drama based on a true story that cost less than $20 to make has stormed to the top of the US weekend box office chart.

There’s a very good chance that several people were slightly fooled
by the trailer for The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. It’s all fast editing
and people bleeding out of their eyes and screaming and apocalyptic
choirs and big drums. But the film is mostly a bunch of people talking
about stuff in a courtroom.

But whatever way Sony got people to go and see the movie, it worked. The
Exorcism Of Emily Rose has had the third-biggest September opening
weekend ever, after Sweet Home Alabama and Rush Hour. Here’s how the US
weekend box office chart looks in full this week:

1 - The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (Based on true events, apparently.
But you could say the same thing about Chicken Run) $30,200,000

2 - The 40-Year-Old-Virgin (The moral of the story is girls are
better than a massive telly and a bunch of videogames. We’re not so
sure) $7,901,000

3 - Transporter 2 (Jason Statham was an Olympic diver. Now he kicks men) $7,200,000

4 - The Constant Gardener (Not a biopic about Monty Don, but how cool would it be if it was?) $4,854,000

5 - Red Eye (Coming soon: Brown Eye) $4,600,000

6 - The Man (The least funny-looking comedy in the history of the universe) $4,025,000

7 – The Brothers Grimm (Everyone hates it, but we’re still going to go and see it) $3,314,000

8 - Wedding Crashers (In the all-time box office chart, Wedding
Crashers sits between Armageddon and Gone With The Wind. Kind of
fitting, really) $3,225,000

9 - Four Brothers (Blah blah blah revenge blah blah Marky Mark etc) $2,950,000

10 - March Of The Penguins (The second-biggest documentary ever. Take note, Michael Moore) $2,525,000

Read more:

Exorcism film ‘Emily Rose’ blooms at box office – Reuters 

[story by Stuart Heritage]