Friday the 13th was the nation's bloody Valentine in what's shaping up as not only the busiest President's Day weekend ever but the biggest February weekend on record, no matter how one slices it. Propelled by the slasher remake and hearty holdovers like He's Just Not That Into You and Taken, overall business spurted up nearly 40 percent over the same weekend last year to a bustling $193 million.

With a smashing estimated $42.2 million on approximately 4,000 screens at 3,105 sites, Friday the 13th skewered the starts of its franchise predecessors, nearly doubling the opening attendance of the series at its peak, and it handily out-grossed the debut of Halloween (2007). It also delivered the top-grossing opening for a horror remake and for a slasher movie and is on course for the second highest President's Day weekend debut ever behind Ghost Rider. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, though, Scream 2, Scream 3 and Freddy Vs. Jason had higher initial attendance, and, unadjusted for inflation, there have been bigger horror openings, including I Am Legend, Signs and The Village.

Horror remakes have been gushing at the box office since the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2003. Resurrecting these brands has been a quick and easy way for producers to generate revenue, as they don't require much creativity and they have a built-in audience, from adults who remember the scares from their youth to the youths who have been raised on the legend of these supposedly scary movies. Indeed, Friday the 13th's opening day alone on Friday the 13th matched the picture's production budget with a $19.4 million haul. Many more horror remakes are in the works, including A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Friday the 13th was marketed as the event of all slasher movies and ads promised a rollercoaster rush. Horror can appeal to both genders equally, making Friday the 13th more of a date movie in many circles than He's Just Not That Into You or Confessions of a Shopaholic, which each heavily skewed female. Distributor Warner Bros.' exit polling bore this out, showing an audience composition of 51 percent male and 59 percent 25 years and older.

-Box Office Mojo-

This is outstanding. The four day weekend will only add icing to this already colossal achievement. Box Office Mojo's ticket price inflation has long been mooted by industry insiders to be skewed and up its own ass, so pay little attention to that (no way the six years in between this and Freddy vs. Jason accounts for a more than $10 million attendance discrepancy). Still, if you're a horror fan and you haven't seen this movie yet, go see it. Don't wait for rental. Support it in theaters because that's where it counts. Our genre can make a badass comeback if we let it. I will be seeing this movie again in theaters. There's going to be a sharp second weekend drop, as per usual for a horror flick, but that doesn't mean we can't push this past the $100 million milestone that no other true slasher (Scream notwithstanding) has accomplished. If the studio were smart, which generally speaking they're not, they'd let this play out as usual and then through a huge marketing push and bump up the theater count behind next month's Friday, March 13. That's like two tailor made weekends for the price of one.

Also opening next Friday the 13th is The Last House on the Left remake, which you may have seen already being discussed in the main GN'R section. We'll be covering that here soon enough.

If it wasn't for American Idol, FOX could have had Terminator lead into Lie to Me on Wednesdays. Better yet, move the show to Sundays and cut out half of the stale animated shit the network insists people want to watch. The Simpsons at 8. Family Guy at 8:30. Terminator at 9. Problem solved.

I've been a fan of Green Day for a long, long time. To me, their best "punk" album is Insomniac. I like that they've allowed themselves to grow into this matured, Queen-like entity. American Idiot showed they were ready to kick to the curb anyone who cried "sell outs" and really embrace who they wanted to be as a band for the first time since their breakthrough. I'm looking forward to this album.

Finally, someone gets the title right! I'm so sick of seeing Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Sorry, stupid really, but it matters to a horror fan.