'Cloverfield' rides monster Internet buzz to top of box office

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

A battle of the sexes over the weekend gave the victory to the men — thanks to a big boost from women.
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loverfield, the movie that began as a mysterious trailer and became an Internet sensation, took in $41 million, according to studio estimates.

The haul is $10 million more than projected and made Cloverfield an easy winner over the bridesmaid comedy 27 Dresses, thanks largely to women turning out in droves for the sci-fi monster flick.

"We thought it would be big with young guys," says Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount, which released Cloverfield. "We didn't expect as many women and older men."

About 40% of Cloverfield's audience was female, and half was 25 or older.

Shot with a no-name cast and handheld cameras, the J.J. Abrams-produced movie was seen in the industry as an experiment in marketing. The first trailers gave away no plot points or even the title of the movie, which sparked debate and discussion.

"I remember watching a trailer of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which also didn't give anything away," director Matt Reeves says. "We wanted a throwback experience. It seemed to get a lot of people interested, not just men or women."

Not that female moviegoers turned their backs on the film aimed squarely at them. The Katherine Heigl romantic comedy 27 Dresses also exceeded expectations by earning $22 million and nearly doubling projections. About 75% of the audience was female.

"It felt like a summer weekend, with business expanding to hold more than one movie," says Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox, which released the movie. "Women who wanted to check out both movies did just that."

The Jack Nicholson-Morgan Freeman comedy The Bucket List remains a strong performer; it placed third with $15.2 million. Juno, the teenage pregnancy comedy, also chugs along. In its fourth weekend, the film took in $10.3 million, good for fourth place and $85.4 million. National Treasure: Book of Secrets was fifth with $8.1 million.

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