‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Outperforms Box-Office Whipper-Snappers

On the worst box-office weekend of the year, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" posts best per-screen average in a special Imax re-release

How bad a weekend was it at the box office? Really bad — as in the lowest since the period following 9/11, And so bad, the 31-year-old "Raiders of the Lost Ark" outperformed everything else in wide release.

With about $68 million in grosses, the weekend is the weakest since the Sept. 21-23 weekend in 2001, when the total was just under $59.7 millon

With the No 1 film, "Possession," taking in just $9.5 million over the three days, it's the first time since 2008 that no film cracked the $10 million mark.

Also read: 'Possession' Repeats as No. 1 as Box Office Goes to Hell

And the best-performing movie — at least in terms of per-screen average — was 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark.” It took in $1.7 million from 267 Imax screens, a $6,460 per-screen average.

Paramount timed the one-week limited re-release to coincide with the debut of its “Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures” on Blu-ray on Sept.  18.

Steven Spielberg directed Harrison Ford and Karen Allen in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," which George Lucas executive produced.

Also read: In Hollywood, Timing Is Everything – Even With Steven Spielberg as a Mentor

Spielberg, who was involved with the Imax conversion, has said in interviews that the look of the film and the special effects remain unchanged, but that the audio has been enhanced to surround sound. Spielberg also said he had no plans to do Imax conversions of the other “Indiana Jones” films or any of his other movies.

He is converting his “Jurassic Park” to 3D for a rerelease next year.

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