|
SUPERHEROES battling inner demons often rule the box
office. This time, the superhero was a demon as
Hellboy II: The Golden Army pulled in $35.9 million
to debut as the No. 1 weekend film.
Universal’s Hellboy sequel, starring Ron Perlman as the
red-skinned devil fighting for the good guys, took over
the top spot from Will Smith’s superhero tale Hancock,
which slipped to second place with $33 million,
according to studio estimates Sunday.
Sony’s
Hancock raised its domestic total to $165
million.
Opening
at No. 3 with $20.6 million was New Line’s Journey to
the Center of the Earth, starring Brendan Fraser in
an underground adventure shot in digital 3D.
Eddie
Murphy bombed with his comedy Meet Dave, a 20th
Century Fox release that took in just $5.3 million. The
movie features Murphy in dual roles as a tiny alien and
his spaceship—which is designed to resemble a full-sized
human for a visit to Earth.
“It was
a tough concept to get across,” 20th Century Fox
distribution executive Bert Livingston said of Meet
Dave, which cost about $55 million to make. “It’s
upsetting for all of us and for Eddie. He’s very funny
in this. Just not enough people came.”
Science-fiction comedy has not been a kind genre for
Murphy. His biggest bomb ever was the sci-fi tale The
Adventures of Pluto Nash, which cost about $90
million and took in just $4.4 million during its entire
run. Hellboy II was a rare case of one studio
taking on another’s hand-me-downs. Sony released the
first Hellboy in 2004 but passed on the sequel,
which allowed Universal to step in.
The
original movie was a modest box-office performer,
hauling in $23.2 million over opening weekend and $59
million in its entire run. However, it really caught
fire on DVD, convincing Universal executives that a
sequel was in order.
“When a
film is a franchise that another studio didn’t want to
continue to pursue, it makes things even better,” said
Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal. “We
believed in the filmmakers, the talent packaged
together. We saw the potential.”
Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) returned to direct
the sequel, which pits Perlman’s Hellboy against
an elf who aims to unleash a monstrous mechanical army
on humanity.
“Pan’s
Labyrinth made a big impression on a lot of people,”
said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker
Media By Numbers. “If they weren’t fans of Guillermo del
Toro before, they certainly are now.”
Journey
to the Center of the Earth
stars Fraser in a modern twist on Jules Verne’s classic
tale about a trip to the planet’s core.
Though
3D screens accounted for fewer than a third of 2,811
theaters where the movie played, those cinemas pulled in
$11.7 million, well over half of the picture’s revenues,
according to Warner Bros., which handled its
distribution.
Warner
had to book the movie largely in traditional 2D theaters
because not enough cinemas have been converted to
projectors capable of showing digital 3-D movies. “We
would have liked to have more of these,” said Dan
Fellman, head of distribution for Warner.
Overall,
Hollywood revenues fell compared with the same weekend a
year ago, when Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix opened with $77.4 million. The top 12 movies
took in $145 million, down 16 percent from the same
weekend in 2007.
However,
Batman arrives Friday to heat up the box office again.
The Batman sequel The Dark Knight is one of the
year’s most-anticipated films even without the death of
costar Heath Ledger. His death and the buzz over his
maniacal performance as Batman nemesis The Joker has
fans in a frenzy to see the movie.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US
and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers Llc.
1.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army, $35.9 million
2.
Hancock, $33 million
3.
Journey to the Center of the Earth, $20.6 million
4.
WALL-E, $18.5 million
5.
Wanted, $11.6 million
6. Get
Smart, $7.1 million
7. Meet
Dave, $5.3 million
8. Kung
Fu Panda, $4.3 million
9. Kit
Kittredge: An American Girl, $2.5 million
10.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $2.3
million AP |
