Universal’s bid to cash in on the vampire craze, ‘Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant,’ based on the first in the hit series of books by Darren Shan, opened this week. The film, about a couple of boys, a circus of freaks and an old vampire, is directed by Paul Weitz, brother of ‘Twilight Saga: New Moon’ director Chris Weitz. Hutcherson, 17, plays one of the teenaged boys. It also features John C. Reilly and Salma Hayek.

Hutchison was confident when speaking to MTV last week, boasting, “We don’t have typical vampires; we have the Vampires and the Vampaneze.” He then added, “We’re a whole different thing. We’ll kill ‘Twilight.’ We’ll eat those guys alive. We’re a lot cooler than them!”

Hutcherson, however, quickly reneged saying, “No, Robert [Pattinson] is still much better-looking than all of us combined. So maybe they win.”

It’s probably a good thing he thought better of his statement. ‘Cirque du Freak,’ a $40 million production, tanked at the box office this weekend, taking in a mere $6.3 million.

The dismal showing may dash Hutcherson’s hopes for sequels in the franchise. The actor told MTV he is most eager to shoot a sequence that would likely occur in the second or third sequel. “Steve is my character,” he said (Steve is one teenaged boy. Chris Massoglia plays the other). “Later on in the story, he becomes the prince of the Vampaneze army, and that’s pretty epic. So I’m dying to get into that.”

(Photo by PR Photos)