Low-Budget Purge Has Shock $36.4M Win

$3M film beats 'The Internship' in opening weekend
By Ruth Brown,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 9, 2013 3:52 PM CDT
Low-Budget Purge Beats Internship
This film image released by Universal Pictures shows Ethan Hawke, right, in a scene from 'The Purge.'   (AP Photo/Universal Pictures)

Well, this was unexpected: The highest grossing film at the box office this weekend was The Purge. The what? Exactly. The low-budget thriller starring Ethan Hawke raked in $36.4 million in its opening weekend. That's twice as much as Shawn Levy's new comedy The Internship, which debuted at No. 4 with just $18.1 million, despite its marquee names of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, the Hollywood Reporter reports. Internship cost $58 million to make; Purge just $3 million.

Rounding out the Top 5: Fast & Furious 6 kept speeding ahead in its third weekend, taking No. 2 with $19.8 million, bringing its total domestic earnings over $200 million. Now You See Me followed at No. 3 with $19.5 million, and kids' flick Epic at No. 5 with $12.1 million, reports Rolling Stone. (More The Purge stories.)

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