Weekend box-office: Scorsese rules with 'The Departed'

By Scott Rosenberg Oct 9, 2006, 0:19 GMT

Weekend box-office is solidly back up in double digits. After two weeks of solid double digit take at the box-office, theaters are enthusiastically gearing up to move in to the holiday season.

This weekend, ‘The Departed’, Martin Scorsese's ‘Inferno Affairs’, Hong Kong crime thriller make over, starring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Leonard DiCaprio, pulled in $27.1 million from 3,017 locations.

Released by Warner Bros., this was the best opener in Scorsese’s career.

In second place was New Line’s low budget teen-screamer Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

Even though it took in about $9 million less than the first in the franchise, “Beginning” pulled in $19.2 million from 2,820 locations.

Dropping to third place after a $28 million opening last week was the Ashton Kutcher voiced ‘Open Season’, Sony’s animated feature about the friendship between a mule deer (Kutcher) and a bear (voiced by Martin Lawrence) and how they rallied other forest animals against the hunters.

Open Season pulled in $16 million from 3,833 locations for a total two week take of $44.1 million.

The Lionsgate release, ‘Employee of the Month’ starring Jessica Simpson pulled in $11.8 million from 2,579 locations.

And holding middle rank in this weekend’s box-office in its second week of release is the Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher coast guard actioner ‘The Guardian’.

The Buena Vista release, took $9.6 million from 3,241 locations for a total two week take of $32.4 million.  Quite a drop from its $22.7 million opening.