<i>Silent Hill</i> scares up $20 million

Last November, Doom showed that a game-based movie can still top the box-office charts on opening weekend despite mixed (at best) reviews and a tepid $15 million take overall. Fellow frightfest Silent Hill pulled a similar trick this week, riding a preliminary reported opening weekend take of $20.2 million to the number one spot despite some critical abuse. Industry tracking firm Exhibitor Relations is expected to release final figures later today.

In claiming the top spot, Silent Hill knocked off last week's champ, Scary Movie 4, which opened with $40.2 million but dropped sharply to a projected $17 million this weekend, landing it in second place on the charts. The other two major new releases this weekend, The Sentinel and American Dreamz, came in third place ($14.7 million) and eighth place ($3.7 million), respectively. Rounding out the top five were a pair of computer graphics films with game tie-ins, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown ($12.8 million) and The Wild ($8.1 million).