By Scott Mendelson, Contributor

Just under ten years after the somewhat shocking $28 million debut of the much-hyped (and surprisingly not terrible) Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, which jump-started the modern horror remake trend and solidified the return of grind house horror, the $26 million debut of a much-hyped Evil Dead remake this weekend is not so much a surprise as a formality.  The Sony Pictures revamp more than made back its budget of $17 million in the first three days, also snagging $4.5 million overseas in the process.  The Sony/Film District/Ghost House production is produced by series-helmer Sam Raimi and given the official blessing of series lead Bruce Campbell (also a producer), but otherwise is its own thing. Not that such a seal of approval always matters…  Wes Craven‘s approved remakes of his 70’s “classics” (Last House on the Left with $32 million and The Hills Have Eyes with $41 million) made noticeably less than the Nightmare on Elm Street remake ($32 million on opening weekend, $63 million total), which he strongly opposed, but it was indeed a boost in terms of fan credibility for a remake of a very much beloved cult property.  The film pulled a weekend multiplier of 2.26x off a $11.9 million Friday, which would be pretty lousy for anything that isn’t a horror film or an insanely anticipated sequel.  But horror films are generally cheap and their business is generally brisk and brief.  But heck, even if it does just double its weekend number for the rest of its domestic run, that’s $54 million. The only open question is whether the word of mouth swearing its the most gruesome and stomach-churning R-rated horror film in recent memory helps or hinders word of mouth. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest