Horror Makes Bid for 4th Week

Fox’s supernatural thriller The Order arrives in theaters today, hoping to continue the spook fest that put New Line’s Freddy Vs. Jason and Jeepers Creepers 2 atop the box office charts over the past three consecutive weeks.

Featuring visual effects by Asylum, The Order stars Heath Ledger (The Patriot, A Knight’s Tale) as a member of an arcane order of priests known as Carolingians. When the head of the order dies, Alex is sent to Rome to investigate mysterious circumstances surrounding the death.

Fox is only releasing the film in 1,975 theaters, compared to Creepers 2‘s 3,125. Still, the film may face its toughest competition in the David Spade comedy Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. Even though the Paramount laffer is being shown in fewer theaters than most holdovers, the sarcastic Spade is popular with young ticket buyers, who may very well be in the mood for a light-hearted comedy after three weeks of gore.