The zombie-filled horror film Resident Evil: Apocalypse took the top spot in the box office derby this weekend with an estimated gross of $23.7 million.  Based on a video game developed by Capcom in Japan where it was known as Bio Hazard, Resident Evil Apocalypse should easily surpass the $40 million cumulative total of its predecessor, Resident Evil.  The success of Resident Evil: Apocalypse should be no surprise in 2004 a year in which two mega-sequels Shrek 2 and Spider-Man 2 have dominated the box office.

 

Zhang Yimou's Hero, the box office leader during the past two weekends, slipped to fourth as its total declined 49% to an estimated $4.4 million.  Hero's $41 million three-week cumulative has already made it the third highest grossing foreign made, foreign language film in Hollywood history, trailing only Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Life is Beautiful.

 

Spider-Man 2's total is down to just a half a million dollars and it appears that this summer's number two film should finish with $372 million.  Alien vs. Predator is fading quickly, but should end up with $80-85 million total.