Young men power "Resident Evil" at box office (Reuters)

In doing so, the Milla Jovovich zombie thriller vaulted ahead of the original "Resident Evil," which debuted with $17.7 million in March 2002, and squeezed ahead of "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," which grabbed $23 million in September 2004.

Predictably, the movie drew a crowd of rabid, younger males. According to CinemaScore's polling of the opening-weekend audience, 55% were younger than 25 and 65% were males. The audience was a tough sell, though, and awarded the movie a grade of B-minus.

Pulling into the No. 2 spot for the weekend was Lionsgate's comedy of dating errors, "Good Luck Chuck," starring Dane Cook and Jessica Alba. The raunchy film attracted $13.65 million.

Universal's "Sydney White," the weekend's third new wide release, paled by comparison. The college comedy starring Amanda Bynes, fresh off the success of "Hairspray," finished in sixth place with just $5.20 million.

A week after opening in limited release, Focus Features' London-set crime drama "Eastern Promises" took the No. 5 spot with $5.64 million.

The previous weekend's champ, the Jodie Foster revenge drama "The Brave One," slipped to No. 3 with $7.31 million; the 10-day total for the Warner Bros. release rose to $25 million.

In its third weekend, Lionsgate's Western "3:10 to Yuma" was close behind, notching $6.16 million, which brought its total to $37.72 million.

With awards season beckoning, the specialty market was busy with prestige titles marking out their territory.

Paramount Vantage's "Into the Wild," Sean Penn's adaptation of Jon Krakauer's book about an Emory University grad who tests himself by living in the wilderness, opened in just four theaters but did a staggering $212,440 worth of business.

Warners' "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" ventured out into five theaters and was rewarded with $147,812.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter