Way To Go Mate!

The very familiar thriller The Roommate wins the Super Bowl XLV weekend at the box office--proving that just because Executive Producer James Cameron helped 3-D pic Sanctum along doesn't mean people will be impressed Let alone go see it

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Screen Gems' thriller The Roommate topped the Super Bowl weekend box office thanks to young females, grossing an estimated $15.3 million from 2,534 theaters to easily best Universal's Australian adventure-actioner Sanctum 3D.

Despite the extra bump from higher-priced 3D tickets and James Cameron's involvement, Sanctum couldn't crack the $10 million mark in its debut, although it still met Universal's expectations.

Sanctum, executive produced by Cameron, opened to an estimated $9.2 million from 2,787 theaters, of which more than 2,000 were 3D runs. Overseas, Sanctum grossed an estimated $3.1 million as it debuted in Australia and the U.K., a relatively soft showing.

Universal and Relativity Media paid $12 million for distribution rights to the Sanctum.

A large part of Roommate's strength was its younger fan base. Of the audience, 61% of those buying tickets were under the age of 21.

In comparison, 65% of those buying tickets to Sanctum were over the age of 30. Both films skewed female -- 65% for Roommate, and 53% for Sanctum.

Overall, the domestic box office was once again down from last year, this time by more than 20%. Super Bowl weekend is always hard for Hollywood, with theater traffic dropping substantially on Sunday.

John Young of EW

The Roommate' outswims 'Sanctum' to top weekend with $15.6 mil

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