Teens prepare for drinking, dancing, sex, evisceration | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

In yet another crushing blow to the American democratic experiment, Prom Night was the big winner at the weekend box office. The PG-13 horror flick/shit sandwich grossed $22.7M to easily out-distance fellow newcomer Street Kings which waddled in with a below-expected $12M. The borderline racist 21 continued to show good legs, earning a strong $11M in its third weekend ($62.2M).

After that it was Nim's Island ($9M/$25.2M), the plummeting Leatherheads ($6.2M/$21.9M) and the resilient Horton Hears a Who ($6M/$139.6M). Smart People debuted to a decent $4.2M, just ahead of The Ruins ($3.2M/$13.4M), Superhero Movie ($3.1M/$21.2M) and Drillbit Taylor ($2M/$28.4M). In limited release, The Visitor ($22,000 per theater) and Young @ Heart ($13,075) were both strong.