DARK SHADOWS: BOX OFFICE LIGHT

Note to major movie studios: DO NOT open your film within 3-4 weeks of any super hero film. Disney Studios has come roaring back from its disappointing showing of JOHN CARTER with Marvel Studios' THE AVENGERS crushing its opponents . . . just like in the comics.

Consequently, Tim Burton's DARK SHADOWS ended the weekend with a disappointing $28.8 million in ticket sales -- THE AVENGERS over three times as much with $103.2 million. Demographics show that DARK SHADOWS appealed primarily to females who made up almost 60% of the audience and about 75% of the audience was over the age of 25. Guess who went to see THE AVENGERS? Kids with money and their parents, that's who.

Despite the attraction of another Tim Buron movie with Johnny Depp starring, the subject may just be a little too esoteric for theater-goers who are more familiar with super heroes these days than they are the supernatural.