UP IN FLAMES

‘Madea’ Wins Box Office Again, Beating ‘Inferno’

Latest Dan Brown film adaptation falls way short of U.S. expectations.

Despite a predicted solid opening weekend for the latest Dan Brown adaptation, Inferno fell short at the box office to the reigning champion, Boo! A Madea Halloween. The comedy, starring its director Tyler Perry, brought in $16.7 million, beating the star-studded Inferno’s $15 million U.S. haul. Analysts had predicted the Tom Hanks-starring, Ron Howard-directed vehicle would take in at least $20 million—considering the success of previous entries in the series, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons—but fell short, in what many consider a box-office bomb. Inferno did, however, open at No. 1 in China, bringing in more than $130 million across international territories.