LOS
ANGELES: New action movie "Battleship" collided with Iron Man, The Hulk
and the rest of "The Avengers" this weekend at movie theater box
offices, and the super heroes came out on top.
"Avengers" from
Walt Disney Co's Marvel Studios added an estimated $55.1 million to its
U.S. and Canadian ticket sales and held the No. 1 box office spot for
the third straight weekend, according to studio forecasts on Sunday.
The
strong performance left big-budget "Battleship," which launched in
theaters on Friday, drifting in second place with $25.3 million. Final
figures will be released on Monday.
Since it opened overseas in
late April, "Avengers" has dominated movie theater box offices
worldwide. Global sales for the film that unites a squadron of Marvel
super heroes in a battle against evil reached $1.18 billion through
Sunday, making it the biggest Disney release ever, the studio said.
Steady
interest in "The Avengers" likely took business from "Battleship," an
effects-filled $209-million production inspired by a Hasbro board game.
Ahead of the weekend, box office forecasters projected at least $30
million for "Battleship" in its North American (U.S. and Canadian)
debut.
"We're disappointed obviously, there are a lot of factors
going into this including the juggernaut 'Avengers' ... it's taking a
big chunk out of the marketplace," Nikki Rocco, president of domestic
distribution at Universal Pictures, told Reuters.
"As a studio,
it's not a disaster but as a domestic opening, it's softer than we could
have hoped for ... the (audience) attention span is unfortunately
altered when you have a juggernaut like 'Avengers,'" Rocco added.
The
movie stars Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgard as Navy officers
engaged in a battle at sea against alien invaders. The U.S. Navy
provided ships and crew members for the film.
Universal Pictures
released "Battleship" overseas weeks ago. International sales since the
April 11 debut reached $226.8 million through Sunday, the studio said.
Combined, global ticket sales for "Battleship" stand at $252.1 million.
In
third place for the weekend, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's satire, "The
Dictator," earned $17.4 million domestically over the weekend. The movie
opened on Wednesday last week, and its five-day total came in at $24.4
million.
"We're ecstatic about that result. It's a fantastic start
for us and we couldn't be more pleased ... for us to think we could
beat 'Borat,' that was a pretty high goal ... hopefully we have a shot
getting to 'Borat' numbers based on the opening," Anthony Marcoly,
president of international distribution at Paramount, told Reuters.
OPPRESSIVE LEADER
In
the film, the irreverent Cohen, whose first film "Borat, Cultural
Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"
earned $128 million during its run in U.S. and Canadian theaters, again
plays for laughs in "The Dictator.
This time Cohen portrays an
oppressive leader of a fictional north African country. The movie cost
$65 million to produce and Baron Cohen has been capturing headlines with
high profile publicity stunts in the United States, London, Germany and
Cannes, ahead of the film's release.
Marcoly added that they will
be pushing the film into Southern Europe, Latin America, the Middle
East and Asia this summer, focusing on its comedic value in those
markets, rather than Baron Cohen's star status.
"Dark Shadows," a
horror comedy starring Johnny Depp, ended its second weekend in domestic
theaters in fourth place, falling from the No. 2 spot last week. The
movie pulled in $12.8 million, for a total of $50.9 million to date.
In
fifth place, comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting" took in
$10.5 million. Based on a popular pregnancy advice book, the movie stars
an ensemble cast including Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz and Chris Rock
as soon-to-be parents.
Lions Gate, Alcon Entertainment and Phoenix
Pictures produced the movie with a budget in the high $30 millions,
reducing their risk with partnerships and foreign pre-sales.
Universal
Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp, released "Battleship." Lions Gate
Entertainment Corp released "What to Expect." "Dark Shadows" was
distributed by Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros studio. Paramount Pictures,
a unit of Viacom Inc, released "The Dictator." (Reuters)
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