Sin City #1 At The Box Office

Tales of hustlers in the film noir comic-book adaptation 'Sin City' took top honors at the North American box office over the weekend, knocking 'Beauty Shop,' into second place. R-rated 'Sin City' pulled in enough viewers to make $28.1 million at North American theaters, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations on April 3, 2005. Rosario Dawson and Clive Owen star in the film. Perhaps the most literal translation of a comic book to film to date, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City is based on the graphic novels Sin City: The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard.

The film’s budget was an estimated $40 million, and opened in 3,230 theaters, averaging $8,707 per screen. For Rodriguez, it was his second best opening ever, after 2003's Spy Kids 3D, which saw an opening weekend take of $33.4 million.

Sin City easily beat the weekend’s #2 film, Beauty Shop, which brought in $13.5 million. Currently, the film is the third best April-opening film ever, behind Anger Management and The Scorpion King. Last April, Hellboy, also based on a Dark Horse Comics published property opened with $23.2 million.

The movie has received largely positive reviews, both from critics who know of its roots, as well as those who encountered Miller’s city without pity for the first time on the screen. Unrelentingly violent, the film has also attracted critics for its portrayal of several murders and acts of revenge, with some of the more bizarre commentators wagging a finger at audiences for making it the #1 movie the weekend during which the Pope died.

In perhaps a pre-emptive move against possible complaints about the violence, many theater chains checked IDs of all patrons seeing the movie, making sure that no one under 17 was admitted, unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. Some individuals reported being carded when they purchased the tickets, and again at the door to the theater where the film was being shown.