Ra One breaks single day box office record

MUMBAI: After failing to break the opening day box office record, Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Ra One’ has managed to make history by breaking the record for highest ticket sales in one day.

In India alone the movie took in Rs23 million on the second day of its release. ‘Ra One’ which had the largest release of any movie to date can be seen in 5,000 theatres across the world and is the most expensive India movie in history.

The movie fell short of breaking Salman Khan’s ‘Bodyguard’ opening day record.

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Paranormal Activity 3 rules US box office

NEW YORK: "Paranormal Activity 3" vanquished the box-office ghosts this weekend, taking in a whopping $54 million upon its premiere in the US, according to studio estimates.

The other two new films in wide release this weekend, however, flopped. An expensive 3-D version of "The Three Musketeers" grossed a disappointing $8.8 million. And "Johnny English Reborn," a comedy starring British comedian Rowan Atkinson, did not resonate with American audiences. While the film is a hit overseas, it collected a weak $3.8 million in the US this weekend.

Still, the results for Paramount Pictures' third "Paranormal" made for the first truly stellar box-office weekend of the fall, which has been characterized by middling performances from high-profile releases. Even past weekend winners such as "Contagion," "Real Steel" and "The Lion King 3-D" had failed to open much beyond $30 million.

"Paranormal's" opening, on the other hand, was the highest-ever October debut, and helped power the top 12 movies to their highest total, $110.3 million, since the middle of August. Analysts had anticipated $40 million to $45 million for the third instalment in the supernatural franchise.

The numbers for the Paramount release represented a significant increase over other horror films, which have struggled of late, and demolished the opening of "Paranormal Activity 2," which drew $40.7 million in its premiere on the same weekend last year.

"Horror fans came out in very large numbers this weekend, and that's a testament to the filmmakers and the enduring power of this franchise," said Rob Moore, Paramount Pictures vice chairman, alluding to the movie directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.

While Moore declined to elaborate on future plans for the franchise, the numbers all but assured there will be a fourth "Paranormal" film, and solidified "Paranormal's" status as the Halloween heir to the "Saw" series, which reliably yielded a hit every October for the past seven years.

In keeping with the general pattern for horror pictures, "Paranormal" drew a higher proportion of women, who came out to see "Paranormal Activity 3" at a ratio of 54% to 46% compared with men. About 53% of the total audience was under age 25.

The movie grossed an additional $26 million upon its debut in international territories, which included France, Australia and Russia, Paramount said.

Still, it remains to be seen how the movie will perform in the coming weeks. While filmgoers came out in sizable numbers to see the horror prequel, they didn't necessarily like what they saw: The film notched an average grade of C+, according to market research firm CinemaScore. The first "Paranormal Activity" took in $107 million in the U.S., while the second film garnered about $85 million. (Reuters)

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Real Steel' dukes its way to top of box office

LOS ANGELES: Disney's boxing robots of "Real Steel" duked their way to the top of the North American box office in their debut weekend, industry data showed Monday.

The Disney kids' flick, starring Hugh Jackman, took in a $27.3 million haul from Friday to Sunday, industry monitor Exhibitor Relations said.

Also in its premiere weekend "The Ides of March" scored a healthy open, surging to the number two spot with $10.5 million total.

"Dolphin Tale," a feel-good family film about a boy who helps a dolphin get a prosthetic tail, dropped out of the top spot to third with $9.1 million, and $49 million to date.

"Moneyball," a sports drama starring Brad Pitt as a baseball coach, was in the number four spot, taking in $7.5 million.

In fifth place was "50/50", a comedy about a 27-year-old man's battle against cancer, which earned $5.6 million.

"Courageous," a police drama, brought in $4.9 million in sixth place for the weekend.

"Lion King - 3D" still raked in $4.6 million in the seventh spot. It has earned $86 million so far in re-release.

"Dream House," a thriller starring real-life couple Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, was in the eighth spot with $4.5 million.

"What's Your Number?," the Anna Faris comedy about her search among her exes for the love of her life, was in ninth place with $3.1 million.

Thriller "Contagion," about a lethal virus that goes global, was in the 10th spot with $2.9 million in earnings. (AFP)

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Apes rule the American box office

LOS ANGELES: New Hollywood film ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ is at the top of the American box office earning over $ 104.9 million. Even though new films arrived in theaters over the weekend, audiences still flocked to ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes,’ which continued its dominance over the competition.

In weekend sales the movie took in $ 27.5 million.

None of the new films which debuted over the weekend saw such results, but ‘The Help’ which is an adaptation of a civil rights novel was the exception. It had ticket sales of $ 25.5 million.

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Box office records broken: Bollywood’s July of joy

Four hit films in July create Bollywood box office history... Which one was your favourite? Delhi Belly, Murder 2, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, or Singham?

History is in the making at box office this month. With four blockbusters running successfully at theatres, this July has turned out to be the best ever in the history of Hindi cinema.

Going by the trade figures, the month saw a net collection of around Rs 210 crore at box office, which is a whopping figure. To give you a sense of proportion, it is roughly 26 percent of the total collection of the first half of this year which included the hits like Ready and Double Dhamaal.

In fact, these two films set the momentum in June, carried forward at the start of July with Delhi Belly, which turned out to be a runaway hit despite its A certificate and expletive-strewn dialogues. Bbuddah - Hoga Terra Baap, released on the same day, did not really create a ruck at ticket windows but did decent enough business.

Then came Murder 2, with its macabre tale of a psychotic killer, and minted money at box office despite being panned by the critics.

Box office hat-trick was consummated with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a life-affirming tale of three friends on a trip through Spain. The film managed to attract footfalls despite releasing just two days after the 13/7 Mumbai terror attacks. In fact, it surpassed the first weekend collection of Murder 2.

The fourth Friday of July brought more cheer with the release of Singham. The movie, starring Ajay Devgan, became the second best opener of the year after Salman Khan’s Ready. The film witnessed an exceptional weekend at box office and is still running strong, racing on its way to be a hit.

Compared to the July of 2010, this July has seen an 80 percent increase in box office business, making it the best ever July in Bollywood history.

The good news is that the coming months would see the release of some most eagerly awaited films of the year, like Bodyguard, Ra.One and Don 2. All of them are expected to be money minters.

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'Transformers' fires up holiday weekend with $116M

LOS ANGELES: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" followed the franchise's previous installments to quick blockbuster status, hauling in $115.9 million over the long Fourth of July weekend.

The movie raised its domestic total to $180.7 million in just over six days.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Tuesday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," Paramount, $115,886,050, 4,088 locations, $23,937 average, $180,651,397, one week.

2. "Cars 2," Disney, $31,629,695, 4,115 locations, $6,385 average, $122,560,310, two weeks.

3. "Bad Teacher," Sony, $17,261,534, 3,049 locations, $4,758 average, $62,707,505, two weeks.
4. "Larry Crowne," Universal, $16,098,795, 2,973 locations, $4,405 average, $16,098,795, one week.
5. "Super 8," Paramount, $9,527,129, 3,088 locations, $2,565 average, $110,070,156, four weeks.
6. "Monte Carlo," Fox, $8,588,318, 2,473 locations, $3,014 average, $8,588,318, one week.
7. "Green Lantern," Warner Bros., $7,928,176, 3,280 locations, $1,999 average, $103,616,460, three weeks.
8. "Mr. Popper's Penguins," Fox, $6,702,940, 2,861 locations, $1,936 average, $51,727,662, three weeks.
9. "Midnight in Paris," Sony Pictures Classics, $4,382,382, 858 locations, $4,172 average, $34,582,454, seven weeks.
10. "Bridesmaids," Universal, $4,354,515, 1,389 locations, $2,625 average, $153,728,880, eight weeks.
11. "X-Men: First Class," Fox, $3,617,628, 1,602 locations, $1,842 average, $139,329,355, five weeks.
12. "The Hangover Part II," Warner Bros., $2,799,390, 1,568 locations, $1,525 average, $248,651,272, six weeks.
13. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," Disney, $2,629,072, 1,473 locations, $1,487 average, $234,176,965, seven weeks.
14. "Kung Fu Panda 2," Paramount, $2,086,729, 1,281 locations, $1,300 average, $157,281,396, six weeks.
15. "The Tree of Life," Fox Searchlight, $1,307,156, 228 locations, $4,686 average, $7,810,592, six weeks.
16. "Beginners," Focus, $740,568, 108 locations, $5,539 average, $2,506,936, five weeks.
17. "Delhi Belly," UTV, $701,824, 89 locations, $6,539 average, $701,824, one week.
18. "Buck," IFC, $601,336, 131 locations, $3,671 average, $1,131,831, three weeks.
19. "Rio," Fox, $542,534, 308 locations, $1,451 average, $140,575,082, 12 weeks.
20. "Thor," Paramount, $470,820, 270 locations, $1,483 average, $177,988,100, nine weeks.
(AP)

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Transformers 3 breaks box office record

LOS ANGELES: Transformers 3 is not only winning over audiences and breathing new life into 3D it’s also breaking box office records. Box Office Tracker Exhibitor Relations is showing that the third film Dark Of The Moon will bring in over $100million by the 4th of July making it the largest holiday box office on record.

3D Box office take has been on the slide over the last while with Green Lantern taking the hardest hit with less than 40% of its revenue coming from 3D ticket sales. Transformers 3D on the other hand has seen over 60% of its revenue come from 3D ticket sales.

Without question Transformers will become a billion dollar franchise in the next month if things keep up as they are at the box office.

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Transformers: dark of the moon makes box office debut

NEW YORK: The third installment in the Transformers series “dark of the moon” is being released today. The movie will be released in both 2D and 3D formats.

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" is set to hit theaters across the US on June 29. The move showcases a mysterious event from Earth's past which erupts into the present day; it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.

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‘Pirates 4’ still top pick at box office

LOS ANGELES: The fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie ruled the foreign box office for a second weekend, fending off strong debuts by the "Hangover" and "Kung Fu Panda" sequels.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," playing everywhere overseas, captured $123 million during the weekend, raising its total to $471 million -- more than three times its domestic gross ($153 million).

"The Hangover, Part II" pulled in $59 million from 40 markets. Warner Bros. said the opening is three times higher than the comparable opening gross of the original 2009 hit in the same markets.

The comedy drew huge numbers from its No. 1 U.K. bow ($16.4 million), while Australia chipped in $11.6 million and France $5.8 million. Germany and Russia will open this week.

"Kung Fu Panda 2" in 3D followed closely with $57 million from just 11 markets, mostly in Asia.

The sequel to 2008's "Kung Fu Panda" finished in the top spot in nine markets, with China ($18.5 million), Russia ($15 million) and South Korea ($13 million) leading the list.

This week will see "Kung Fu Panda 2" adding 11 markets as it rolls out gradually over the summer months to capitalize on school holidays.

No. 4 on the weekend was "Fast Five," which grossed $13.3 million in 61 territories, pushing the foreign total for the turbo-charged street-racing sequel to $346 million.

"Rio" came in at No. 5 with $3.8 million from 37 markets for an overseas total of $321.9 million. (Reuters)

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Rebooted 'Pirates' sets overseas box office record

NEW YORK (AP) — The reengineered "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise has sailed again at the box office, as the "On Stranger Tides" sequel took a record international haul of $256.3 million, according to studio estimates.

Walt Disney Co. said Sunday that the fourth "Pirates" installment earned $90.1 million domestically. That gives it a worldwide total of $346.4 million, the fourth largest global opening.

The new film jettisons co-stars Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, but brings back Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane introduce new characters.

"On Stranger Tides" was the only new film in wide-release on the weekend. In its second week of release, the acclaimed comedy "Bridesmaids" was second at the box office with $21 million.

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'Thor' hammers 'Bridesmaids' at box office

"Thor" nailed down the No. 1 spot at the box office again.

Paramount's 3-D superhero film starring Chris Hemsworth as Marvel's hammer-toting god of thunder earned $34.5 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That brings the total haul of "Thor" to $119.2 million, though not quite as impressive as fellow comic book hero "Iron Man 2," which earned $211.2 million by its second weekend the same time last year.

"`Thor' had a really great playing field to work on for its second weekend in theaters," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "For a big-budget Marvel Comics film that opened very solidly to drop only 48 percent indicates some very strong word of mouth. I think Kenneth Branagh being the director really brought a lot to the table."

Universal's "Bridesmaids," the raunchy comedy starring Kristen Wiig as a down-on-her-luck maid of honor, debuted above expectations in second place with $24.4 million. Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, attributed the movie's good reviews and word of mouth to wide audience appeal: 67 percent of the audience was female; 33 percent male.

"That's pretty good considering this is a picture titled 'Bridesmaids,'" said Rocco.

The next adversary for "Thor" arrives next week with the opening of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fourth film in the blockbuster Disney franchise starring Johnny Depp as mischievous pirate Capt. Jack Sparrow. On Memorial Day weekend come the sequels "The Hangover Part II" from Warner Bros. and "Kung Fu Panda 2" from Paramount.

"The cavalry is about to arrive," said Dergarabedian. "We're poised for a strong Memorial Day weekend. We're down year-to-date about 13 percent on revenue. A month ago, we were down 20 percent. We're making up ground, and this weekend was down only 3 percent, which is impressive considering the strength of 'Iron Man 2' in its second weekend a year ago."

Universal's car-racing sequel "Fast Five" with Dwayne Johnson shifted into the third position with $19.5 million in its third weekend in theaters.

Sony's 3-D vampire-hunting graphic novel adaptation "Priest" opened in fourth place with $14.5 million, while Fox's animated bird tale "Rio" landed at fifth place with $8 million in its fifth weekend in theaters.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Thor," $34.5 million.

2. "Bridesmaids," $24.4 million.

3. "Fast Five," $19.5 million.

4. "Priest," $14.5 million.

5. "Rio," $8 million.

6. "Jumping the Broom," $7.3 million.

7. "Something Borrowed," $7 million.

8. "Water for Elephants," $4.1 million.

9. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family," $2.2 million.

10. "Soul Surfer," $1.8 million.
(AP)

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`Limitless' wins weekend with $18.9M debut

LOS ANGELES: "Limitless," starring Bradley Cooper as an author who taps his full brain potential after sampling a revolutionary new drug, topped North America's weekend box office, data showed Monday.

The darkly comic thriller film benefited from a charismatic lead actor in Cooper, of 2009 smash hit "The Hangover," to make $18.9 million in its debut weekend, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

In second place was Paramount's eccentric animated film "Rango," with the voice talent of Johnny Depp in a tale about a chameleon who becomes sheriff to clean up the town of Dirt, had $15.1 million in ticket sales.

Slipping from the top spot to third was "Battle: Los Angeles," which tells the story of a unit of US Marines fighting invading aliens. The film took in $14.5 million across North America.

The Matthew McConaughey-starring drama "The Lincoln Lawyer" debuted in the fourth spot, with $13.2 million, while British comic star Simon Pegg's science fiction romp "Paul" took $13 million, also in its opening weekend.

In sixth was "Red Riding Hood," a gothic retelling of the classic fairy tale, starring Amanda Seyfried as a strong-willed teenager in a love triangle, had $7.2 million in sales as it slid three spots in its second weekend.

Thriller "The Adjustment Bureau" had $58 million in takings for the seventh spot, while Disney's "Mars Needs Moms!" slipped three slots for this weekend's number eight with $5.3 million in estimated sales.

Ninth place went to critically panned teen romance flick "Beastly" with $3.2 million, ahead of comedy "Hall Pass" with $2.6 million. (AFP)

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'Battle: LA' tops box office with $35.6 million

NEW YORK (AP) — The alien invasion sci-fi blockbuster "Battle: Los Angeles" conquered the box office with a $35.6 million debut.

Other new releases performed poorly. The gothic fairy tale adaptation "Red Riding Hood" took in $14 million, while Disney's 3-D animated "Mars Needs Moms!" managed just $6.9 million.
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Battle: Los Angeles," Sony/Columbia, $35,573,187, 3,417 locations, $10,411 average, $35,573,187, one week.
2. "Rango," Paramount, $22,602,847, 3,923 locations, $5,762 average, $68,206,101, two weeks.
3. "Red Riding Hood," Warner Bros., $14,005,335, 3,030 locations, $4,622 average, $14,005,335, one week.
4. "The Adjustment Bureau," Universal, $11,597,335, 2,847 locations, $4,074 average, $38,589,595, two weeks.
5. "Mars Needs Moms!" Disney, $6,914,488, 3,117 locations, $2,218 average, $6,914,488, one week.
6. "Beastly," CBS Films, $5,021,232, 1,959 locations, $2,563 average, $16,911,633, two weeks.
7. "Hall Pass," Warner Bros., $5,011,020, 2,555 locations, $1,961 average, $34,842,289, three weeks.
8. "Just Go With It," Sony, $4,019,266, 2,398 locations, $1,676 average, $94,000,847, five weeks.
9. "Gnomeo and Juliet," Disney, $3,617,255, 2,585 locations, $1,399 average, $89,102,365, five weeks.
10. "The King's Speech," Weinstein Co., $3,573,112, 1,768 locations, $2,021 average, $129,010,235, 16 weeks.
11. "Unknown," Warner Bros., $3,366,339, 2,303 locations, $1,462 average, $58,410,845, four weeks.
12. "I Am Number Four," Disney, $2,260,314, 2,005 locations, $1,127 average, $50,455,723, four weeks.
13. "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," Paramount, $1,378,830, 1,247 locations, $1,106 average, $70,955,641, five weeks.
14. "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son," Fox, $1,306,504, 931 locations, $1,403 average, $35,162,958, four weeks.
15. "Take Me Home Tonight," Relativity Media, $1,272,239, 2,003 locations, $635 average, $5,891,092, two weeks.
16. "Cedar Rapids," Fox Searchlight, $921,038, 394 locations, $2,338 average, $4,597,332, five weeks.
17. "Tangled," Disney, $640,753, 363 locations, $1,765 average, $196,675,983, 16 weeks.
18. "The Fighter," Paramount, $576,083, 463 locations, $1,244 average, $92,931,288, 14 weeks.
19. "Yogi Bear," Warner Bros., $476,341, 404 locations, $1,179 average, $98,677,804, 13 weeks.
20. "Black Swan," Fox Searchlight, $440,504, 337 locations, $1,307 average, $105,928,217, 15 weeks.

Credit : The Associated Press

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Depp leads "Rango" to top of box office

LOS ANGELES — Johnny Depp's "Rango," an animated tale about a chameleon who becomes sheriff to clean up the town of Dirt, earned $38 million to top North America's weekend box office, industry data showed Sunday.

"Rango," hailed by critics as clever and eccentric, proved in its debut weekend to be another successful pairing of Depp with director Gore Verbinski, who helmed the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.
Matt Damon's thriller "The Adjustment Bureau" debuted at number two, taking $21 million, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations. It is based on a 1954 short story by Philip K. Dick ("Minority Report" and "Blade Runner").

Damon's character challenges his fate, which is closely managed by a team of mysterious men who do all they can to keep him on his predetermined path. Emily Blunt co-stars as Damon's love interest.

"Beastly" debuted in the third spot, with $10 million, after beastly reviews of the teen romance starring British heartthrob Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens ("High School Musical") in a modern take on Beauty and the Beast. Critics cited subpar acting and clunky dialogue.

Raunchy comedy "Hall Pass" fell from first to fourth place, taking $9 million for the tale of married guys whose wives let them have affairs. It was directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly.

Falling three spots to fifth was "Gnomeo and Juliet," which made $6.9 million, giving it a four-week total of $84 million. The G-rated animated retelling of Shakespeare's play features the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt.

Liam Neeson's thriller "Unknown" was sixth with $6.6 million in its third week. The Irishman stars as a botanist who tries to piece together his life atfer a car crash.

"The King's Speech," which last weekend won several Oscars including best film, was next with $6.5 million, giving it a total of $124 million in 15 weeks.

The British royal drama was in a virtual tie with Adam Sandler's romantic comedy "Just Go With It," which earned $6.5 million in its fourth week.

Teen heartthrobs battled for the bottom slots.
The chiseled-tummied Pettyfer stars in "I Am Number Four," which was number nine, with $5.7 million in its third week. Pettyfer plays a teenaged alien refugee hiding on Earth from evil invaders who killed his family.
Shaggy-headed Justin Bieber was next, as his "Never Say Never" concert documentary was tenth with $4.3 million. The Canadian pop star turned 17 on March 1.(AFP)

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'Number Four' aims for first place at box office

LOS ANGELES: "I Am Number Four," a teen sci-fi adventure starring young English hunk-of-the-moment Alex Pettyfer, is likely to open in the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this Presidents Day holiday weekend.

Box-office observers say the film could do in the low-$20 million range for the four-day period.

Directed by D.J. Caruso, "Number Four" tells the story of an alien teenager hiding out on Earth from the ruthless species that killed his family. It marks the first DreamWorks title to be released by Disney's Touchstone Pictures under a distribution and marketing deal struck between the companies after DreamWorks' split with Paramount.

"Number Four" isn't the only new title poised to do well over the long holiday weekend, sparking hope in Hollywood that the downturn at the domestic box office will begin to reverse itself.

"Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" also has good traction, especially among black audiences. The Fox threequel returns Martin Lawrence in the lead role while introducing a younger character played by Brandon T. Jackson.

The third new wide release is the Liam Neeson action-thriller "Unknown." The Warner Bros. release goes after older moviegoers and hopes to replicate the success of Neeson's 2009 surprise hit "Taken."

All three will have to compete with reigning champ "Just Go With It," a Sony romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. It had earned $41 million through Wednesday.

Disney's "Gnomeo & Juliet" also should have a good second weekend, particularly with Monday being a holiday in the United States. It had earned $30 million through Monday.

"Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" is expected to suffer a big drop in its second weekend, but no one is willing to bet against the teen icon entirely. Its total through Wednesday was $33.9 million. (Reuters)

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'Black Swan' continues its twirl overseas

LOS ANGELES: Despite "Tangled's" continued lock on first place, "Black Swan" landed just a feather away from taking the top spot at foreign theaters over the weekend, missing No. 1 by a mere $131,664.

An obvious "Oscar Bump" is strongly in play as international audiences in 29 territories boosted the mainstream art house wonder over the $150 million mark in global revenue with $16.7 million in weekend receipts.

Third place got an unexpected visitor as the Franco-Belgian comedy "Nothing to Declare" in just four territories earned an impressive $13.95 million and is approaching $50 million worldwide. For a film that most people stateside have never heard of, that's not a bad haul.

In six more territories than last week another Oscar darling, "The King's Speech," held steady in fourth place with $13.2 million and a global cumulative that is just a shilling shy of $200 million. And other Oscar contenders continued to make their mark in the Top 20, with "True Grit" in ninth place and "The Fighter" in 19th place, having just crossed the $100 million mark in global dollars.

Here are the top 20 movies at international theaters last weekend, followed by international gross for the weekend (excluding North America), number of theater locations, number of territories, worldwide gross to date (including North America), and number of weeks in release as compiled Wednesday by global media measurement company Rentrak Corp. and provided by Hollywood.com:

"Tangled," $16,871,286, 4,400 locations, 44 territories, $490,473,734, 12 weeks.

2. "Black Swan," $16,739,622, 3,484 locations, 29 territories, $155,421,621, 11 weeks.

3. "Nothing to Declare," $13,956,964, 1,129 locations, four territories, $46,882,950, three weeks.

4. "The King's Speech," $13,211,028, 3,893 locations, 26 territories, $199,976,798, 12 weeks.

5. "Sanctum," $11,958,392, 3,856 locations, 13 territories, $45,453,535, two weeks.

6. "The Green Hornet," $10,787,977, 7,822 locations, 59 territories, $200,046,313, five weeks.

7. "Yogi Bear," $9,278,119, 4,246 locations, 31 territories, $155,338,796, nine weeks.

8. "Kokowääh," $8,524,143, 876 locations, three territories, $21,659,756, two weeks.

9. "True Grit," $8,469,692, 3,385 locations, 16 territories, $177,921,814, eight weeks.

10. "Gulliver's Travels," $7,644,591, 1,992 locations, 36 territories, $183,300,808, eight weeks.

11. "Tron Legacy," $6,289,869, 2,075 locations, 26 territories, $356,084,840, nine weeks.

12. "No Strings Attached," $5,525,670, 3,098 locations, 17 territories, $71,811,219, four weeks.

13. "Gnomeo and Juliet," $5,348,317, 3,633 locations, seven territories, $34,476,335, one week.

14. "Just Go With It," $5,229,806, 4,463 locations, 13 territories, $44,182,893, one week.

15. "Hereafter," $4,487,711, 1,500 locations, 27 territories, $88,829,879, six weeks.

16. "The Tourist," $4,234,232, 2,601 locations, 50 territories, $230,777,671, 10 weeks.

17. "Femmine Contro Maschi," $3,362,288, locations NA, one territory, $10,450,509, two weeks.

18. "Detective K: Secret of a Peddler's Inn," $3,354,139, locations NA, one territory, $24,321,180, three weeks.

19. "The Fighter," $3,321,450, 1,942 locations, 19 territories, $102,820,739, 10 weeks.

20. "Gantz," $3,092,464, locations NA, one territory, $25,870,868, three weeks. (AP)

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'The Roommate' slips into box office top spot

LOS ANGELES: The low-budget and widely panned horror flick "The Roommate" opened at the top of the North American box office during a sluggish weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The psychological thriller starring Leighton Meester as a deranged college freshman obsessed with her roommate Minka Kelly grossed $15.6 million in its three days, despite receiving poor reviews.

Survey aggregator Rotten Tomatoes said only nine percent of critics gave the film a thumbs-up.

Box office earnings were dented this weekend by the hugely popular Super Bowl American football championship game, due to take place later Sunday.

"Sanctum," which also got trashed by critics -- came in a distant second. The 3-D underwater cave adventure produced by James Cameron of "Avatar" fame secured $9.2 million in ticket receipts.

Dropping into third was "No Strings Attached," a romantic romp starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. The Ivan Reitman film about casual sex between friends took in $8.4 million.

British historical drama "The King's Speech" jumped up one notch to fourth after drawing 12 nominations from the Oscars race. It has earned $84.1 million so far in 11 weeks of showing.

Action movie "The Green Hornet" got fifth with $6.1 million, pulling ahead of Anthony Hopkins exorcism thriller "The Rite." The horror inspired by 1970s classic "The Exorcist" captured $5.6 million.

Dropping to seventh with $5.4 million was "The Mechanic," while the Western "True Grit" came in eighth with $4.8 million.

Oscar-winning brothers Joel and Ethan Coen's remake features Jeff Bridges in the John Wayne role as a drunken, hard-nosed US marshal. The film has earned $155 million in seven weeks.

Vince Vaughn's relationship comedy "The Dilemma," in its fourth week in theaters, slipped from seventh to ninth with $3.4 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was "Black Swan," a gritty ballet-themed thriller starring Natalie Portman which earned $3.4 million, for a 10-week total of $95.9 million.

The film was nominated for five Oscars, including best picture and best performance by an actress for Portman.

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China sets $1.5 bln box office record in 2010

BEIJING: China's film industry had a record year in 2010, grossing 10.17 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) at the box office, but domestic movies struggled against Hollywood blockbusters, according to state media.

National box office takings rose 63.9 percent on-year as more Chinese than ever went to the movies, Tong Gang, director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's State Film Bureau told the China Daily on Saturday.

"Ten billion yuan is just something to feel good about, but not to show off about," Tong was quoted as saying.

"So far, it has not been possible to compete with such films as 'Avatar' and 'Inception'. Far too few domestic films are well received by the public," he added.

Combined, Hollywood's sci-fi fantasy "Avatar" and thriller "Inception" represented about a fifth of China's total box office takings while the highest-grossing domestic film, disaster epic "Aftershock", earned only 673 million yuan.

"China still lacks good films," Tong said.

Beijing officials are increasingly stressing that China needs to expand its cultural industries, which account for less than two percent of the country's gross domestic product.

China made 526 feature films in 2010 -- up 15 percent from 2009 -- making it the third-largest film producer after Bollywood and Hollywood, the China Daily said.

But critics, including "Aftershock" director Feng Xiaogang, one of the country’s most successful commercial directors, say censors at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television often block the kind of originality needed to make great films.

"This is not an era that can produce masters," Feng told Sina.com in an interview last year.

China currently limits the number of foreign films screened in cinemas to 20 a year but in March it is due to address the World Trade Organization's call for it to open up its film market.

Tong declined to comment on what impact that ruling could have on the domestic film industry, the report said.

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'Little Fockers' tops North American box office

"Little Fockers," the third in a series of Ben Stiller comedies playing on the nightmare in-laws theme, topped the Christmas weekend box office in North America, preliminary data showed Sunday.

Despite a lukewarm response from critics, the flick grossed 34 million dollars over the three-day weekend, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Oscar-winning brothers Joel and Ethan Coen came in second with their remake of the John Wayne western "True Grit."

Jeff Bridges plays drunken, hard-nosed US Marshal "Rooster" Cogburn in the new version of the 1969 classic, which took in 25.6 million dollars, giving the Coen brothers their best ever opening.

Bridges also stars in last weekend's top film -- "TRON: Legacy" -- which captured 20.1 million dollars in ticket sales in its second weekend, slipping down to third in the rankings.

The sequel to the 1982 sci-fi cult hit stars 61-year-old Oscar-winner Bridges appearing opposite a computer-generated version of his younger self from the original movie.

The original "TRON" -- about a hacker transported into a computer game world -- was one of the first-ever computer animated films. It did well at the box office and became a cult for a generation of budding sci-fi fans.

In fourth spot was "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," the third installment in the "The Chronicles of Narnia" series based on the classic C.S. Lewis children's books. It earned 10.8 million dollars.

"Yogi Bear," a blend of 3D and live-action fun, notched up 8.8 million dollars in earnings ahead of Mark Wahlberg's boxing drama "The Fighter," in sixth place with 8.5 million.

Jack Black 3D comedy "Gulliver's Travels," based on Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel about a voyage to the Lilliput kingdom of tiny people, opened in a disappointing seventh place, with 7.2 million in ticket sales.

Ballet thriller "Black Swan," starring Natalie Portman as a dancer in a New York company exploring the dark sides of the industry and her own sensuality, dropped down a notch to eighth. It made 8.38 million dollars.

In ninth place, the animated Disney fable "Tangled" about long-haired Princess Rapunzel netted 6.5 million dollars, notching up a total of 143.8 million over its five weeks in theaters.

Rounding out the top 10 was romantic thriller "The Tourist," starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. It earned 5.7 million.

British historical drama "The King's Speech," featuring Colin Firth as a stuttering King George VI who is helped to overcome his impediment with the help of an eccentric speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush, earned 4.6 million in a limited showing in 700 theaters.

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Tron leads weak pack of newcomers at box office

LOS ANGELES: "Tron: Legacy," a costly 3D sci-fi movie that Walt Disney Co has promoted for more than three years, opened disappointingly at the weekend box office in North America, while a new comedy starring Reese Witherspoon was one of the biggest flops of the year.

The "Tron" movie, a massively hyped sequel to an obscure 1982 movie, earned $43.6 million during its first three days of release, Disney said Sunday. Industry observers had been expecting a three-day start in the $50 million range, although Disney said the opening was within its own expectations.

The effects-laden update reportedly cost $170 million to make, and more than $100 million to market worldwide. Disney never divulges budgets.

Internationally, the film earned a modest $23 million from No. 1 openings in all 26 of its markets, including Japan, Australia, Britain and Brazil. These markets represent about half of the international sales pie.

Meanwhile "How Do You Know" opened at No. 8 with just $7.6 million in the United States and Canada, far short of modest expectations in the $12 million range. The Columbia Pictures project cost about $100 million to make, with half the budget spent on salaries for Witherspoon, co-stars Jack Nicholson, Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd, and writer/director James L. Brooks. Extensive reshoots also drove up costs.

Executives at the Sony Corp unit were despondent about the opening, although the film had suffered bad buzz for some time with no help from a forgettable title.

A third newcomer did not do much better. "Yogi Bear," a live-action/animated update of the old television cartoon, came in at No. 2 with $16.7 million. Distributor Warner Bros. said it had hoped for an opening between $18 million and $20 million, but the Time Warner Inc unit expected the Christmas holiday would boost business. The $80 million film stars Dan Aykroyd as the voice of the title character and Justin Timberlake as his sidekick Boo Boo.

Critics trashed all three films, which vied for the attention of holiday-distracted moviegoers alongside national expansions of acclaimed awards-season contenders Paramount Pictures' "The Fighter" (No. 4, $12.2 million) and Fox Searchlight's "Black Swan" (No. 7, $8.3 million).

Last weekend's champion, 20th Century Fox's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," fell to No. 3 with $12.4 million in its second weekend.

"The Tourist," a widely mocked caper starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, dropped three places to No. 5 with $8.7 million, also in its second weekend. The Columbia release tied with Disney's former chart-topping cartoon "Tangled."

The final weekend before Christmas is traditionally slow, although films often enjoy long runs as school holidays start to take effect. But overall business has been weak for some time, with year-on-year sales down for six weekends in a row.

"A malaise has crept over the marketplace," said Paul Dergarabedian, head box office analyst at Hollywood.com. "The lack of momentum is hurting everybody across the board."

But Disney was bullish about "Tron: Legacy," a project that has occupied the attention of two regimes at the studio in recent years. It has been offering tantalizing glimpses to movie fans at the annual Comic-Con convention since 2008, and raised the heat in recent months with cross-marketing efforts across its theme parks, consumer-products and cable TV wings.

Jeff Bridges returns to "Tron" as a videogame developer trapped in a virtual environment called the Grid. While the original film appealed only to male youngsters, Disney targeted the reboot at men and women of all ages.

But exit polling indicated the film skewed to men aged 18 to 30, with relatively little interest in mainstream multiplexes. Instead, the film's tech-savvy constituency thronged 3D and big-screen theaters. About one-quarter of sales -- $10.3 million -- came from Imax Corp's 234 screens. The film played in almost 3,500 theaters overall.

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