Woman In Black scares up monstrous business

by Naman Ramachandran

01/03/2012 - James Watkins’ The Woman In Black [trailer] from horror-masters Hammer has scared its way to the top of the British box office heap after sitting at number one for three weeks in a row. The film has collected a total of £14,598,813 from 457 screens with a per screen average of £5,351 for distributor Momentum Pictures.

The film has now grossed more than all other British horror films or UK-shot Hollywood films featuring British talent including The Others, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Interview with a Vampire, Shaun Of The Dead and 28 Days Later. It’s a similar story in North America with the film having grossed north of $50 million.

Scriptwriter Jane Goldman adapted The Woman In Black from the novel by Susan Hill. The film is a Hammer, Alliance Films, The UK Film Council presentation, in association with Cross Creek Pictures and is a Talisman production in association with Exclusive Media. Producers are Richard Jackson, Simon Oakes and Brian Oliver. Executive Producers are Guy East, Nigel Sinclair, Tobin Armbrust, Marc Schipper, Neil Dunn, Xavier Marchand, Roy Lee and Tyler Thompson.

Simon Oakes, President and CEO of Hammer and Vice Chairman of Exclusive Media said, “The record-breaking success of The Woman in Black is an important achievement that affirms the re-birth of Hammer. We are continuing to develop exciting and intelligent genre films this year such as The Quiet Ones and Gaslight, both of which will shoot in the UK.”