'Expendables 2' tops N. America box office

LOS ANGELES: All-star action romp "The Expendables 2" opened at the top of the North American box office, easily dethroning another sequel, "The Bourne Legacy," industry figures showed Monday.

"Expendables 2", which stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jet Li as mercenaries, raked in $28.6 million since its debut on Friday, according to movie tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"The Bourne Legacy" -- starring Jeremy Renner as a secret agent threatened by his employers in the latest installment of the popular series that had starred Matt Damon as Jason Bourne -- took in $17.1 million for second place.

That kept it ahead of another new release, "ParaNorman," an animated movie about a boy who can speak with the dead, which raked in $14.1 million in ticket sales.

Political spoof "The Campaign," starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, fell to fourth place, with box office receipts of $13.1 million.

"Sparkle" -- a Motown-style musical set in the 1960s, featuring the late Whitney Houston in her final film appearance -- opened in fifth place, with $11.6 million.

"The Dark Knight Rises," the latest Batman film, slipped to sixth place, earning $11 million. The final installment in the trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan has so far raked in a total of $410 million.

Quirky fantasy-comedy "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" debuted in seventh place at $10.8 million.

Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones's romantic comedy "Hope Springs," about a married couple trying to get back their spark, was in eighth place at $9.1 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were teen comedy "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" ($3.8 million) and science-fiction action remake "Total Recall" ($3.5 million).

Raunchy teddy bear 'Ted' tops North America box office

LOS ANGELES: "Ted," a comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and his raunchy teddy bear pal, topped the North American box office this weekend, besting the male strippers of "Magic Mike," industry estimates showed Sunday.

"Ted" -- a film directed by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane in which Wahlberg's childhood toy comes to life -- earned $54.1 million in its debut, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"Magic Mike," starring Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey as male strippers, raked in $39.2 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend.

"Brave," Pixar's 3D fairytale about a Scottish princess trying to rescue her mother from an evil witch, dropped from first to third place, taking in $34 million.

Tyler Perry's "Madea's Witness Protection" debuted in fourth place with $26.35 million in ticket sales. Animated hit sequel "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" dropped to fifth place at $11.8 million.

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," a slasher flick casting America's 16th president as a crusader against both slavery and vampires, earned $6 million for sixth place.

It was followed by Ridley Scott's sci-fi adventure "Prometheus" with $4.9 million in ticket sales.

Eighth place went to "Moonrise Kingdom," the latest from director Wes Anderson starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton. The indie coming-of-age film took in $4.87 million.

"Snow White and the Huntsman," a new twist on the classic fairy tale starring Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart, finished in ninth place with $4.4 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was family drama "People Like Us," which took in $4.3 million in its opening weekend.

Final figures were due out Monday. (AFP)

Disney's "Brave" rides to box office win

LOS ANGELES: Disney's new animated movie, "Brave," about a rebellious, red-headed princess battled to the top of movie box office charts over the weekend, scoring $80 million in ticket sales around the world.

The fairy tale from Disney's Pixar studio pulled in $66.7 million at domestic theaters, plus $13.5 million from nternational markets. "Brave" easily topped new historical/horror mashup "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," which finished the weekend in third place.

The 3D "Brave" is set in the ancient Scottish highlands and centers around horseback-riding teen princess Merida, who defies her mother and her kingdom's traditions. Merida, voiced by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald, must then use her courage and archery skills to undo a curse.

The movie brings the 13th consecutive No. 1 opening to Pixar, which has become Hollywood's most reliable studio during its 17-year history of making films. Starting with "Toy Story" in 1995, its 12 films before "Brave" have generated more than $7.2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, according to Hollywood.com.

Its 2010 film "Toy Story 3" was the biggest selling film that year, with $415 million in U.S. ticket sales and nearly $1.1 billion worldwide.

"Brave" is a departure for Pixar, and is its first film to feature a strong female as the lead character, following a long Disney tradition with female heroines that in recent years have included "Mulan" and "Pocahontas." "Brave" cost about $185 million to make.

Ahead of the weekend, industry tracking suggested "Brave" would secure between $55 million and $60 million in domestic ticket sales, putting the film line with most of Pixar's recent debuts, but the film topped expectations.

"Brave" knocked another animated family film, "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," to No. 2 after its two weeks in the top spot. The movie about a pack of escaped zoo animals took in $20 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters over the weekend, and the worldwide total since its debut rose to $157.6 million.

HONEST ABE BATTLES VAMPIRES

In third place on domestic charts, thriller "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" rung up a solid $16.5 million. The movie imagines the 16th U.S. president fighting creatures of the night that are plotting to take over the country. Benjamin Walker stars as the axe-wielding Lincoln in the $70-million 3D production.

The movie rung up another $8.1 million in international markets.

Distributor 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp, had projected domestic sales would hit around $15 million for the weekend.

In fourth place, "Alien" director Ridley Scott's movie, "Prometheus," about explorers searching for the origins of mankind added $10 million in domestic sales to bring its global sales after three weeks to $108.5 million.

Another new release, "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" pulled in $3.8 million, for a disappointing 10th place. The dark comedy starring Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley tells the story of a man who goes on a road trip as an asteroid speeds toward Earth.

The film, which cost less than $10 million to make, played in 1,618 theaters, fewer than the 3,000-plus for the weekend's other big movies.

The fifth spot went to Universal's "Snow White and the Huntsman," which took in $8 million domestically to bring its four-week global total to $137 million.

"Madagascar 3" was produced by Dreamworks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. News Corp movie studio 20th Century Fox released "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" and "Prometheus." Focus Features, a unit of Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures, released "Seeking a Friend." (Reuters)

‘Underworld Awakening’ tops US box office

LOS ANGELES: "Underworld Awakening," about the exploits of a woman vampire warrior, grabbed top North American box office honors in its opening weekend, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said Monday.

The 3D film starring Kate Beckinsale garnered $25.3 million at the box office, outmaneuvering the debut of "Red Tails," which recounts the World War II deeds of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black pilots, with $18.8 million.

The two new films pushed last week's top attraction, Mark Wahlberg's crime drama "Contraband," to third place with $12 million over the weekend.

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," the Tom Hanks-Sandra Bullock story of a family impacted by the 9/11 attacks, brought in $10 million in its first weekend of wide release.

Rounding out the top 10 were action flick "Haywire" ($8.4 million), "Beauty And The Beast" in 3D ($8.8 million), "Joyful Noise" ($5.9 million), "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" ($5.6 million), "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows" ($4.5 million) and "The Iron Lady" ($3.7 million). (AFP)

Cruise rings in New Year at top of box office

LOS ANGELES: Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" topped the North American box office for a second straight weekend, ringing in the New Year with $30 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The action film, the fourth in the series, thus far has taken in $133 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

In second place was "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," a sequel to the 2009 film about the detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It took in $22.1 million in the third week since its release.

In third place with $18.3 million was "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," the third animated film about the adorable singing critters.

Fourth place went to Steven Spielberg's "War Horse," about the bond between a boy and his horse during World War I, which was expected to reap in $16.9 million.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" -- the Hollywood adaptation of the wildly popular Stieg Larsson novel, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara -- took in $16.3 million for fifth place.

Family film "We Bought A Zoo" starring Matt Damon finished in sixth place, taking in $14.3 million.

Another Spielberg film, "The Adventures of Tintin," about an intrepid Belgian boy reporter, was seventh with $12 million.

Star-studded holiday romance "New Year's Eve" earned $6.7 million for eighth place, while thriller "The Darkest Hour" took ninth place with $4.3 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was "The Descendants" starring George Clooney, which grossed $3.7 million. (AFP)

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.

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.

'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)

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.

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.

‘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)

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.

'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)

`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)

'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

'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)

'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)

'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.

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.

Actors who rocked the Box office

The usual frontrunners like Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and even megastar Amitabh Bachchan failed to charm audiences with their big budget outings this year except for Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn who were followed by underdogs and first-timers.

Here's a list of the top actors on the basis of their box office performances:

- Salman Khan: Nobody beats this "Bigg Boss" when it comes to pleasing audiences with his authenticity and irrevocable charm. Living up to his "Wanted" legacy, 'Robinhood Pandey' stood tall as the invincible king of Bollywood this year with his mofussil mazaa providing contemporary vintage corrupt cop saga "Dabangg" that flushed the debacle of his first release of the year "Veer" to obscurity.

- Ajay Devgn: Comedy, politics, action - you name it, he's done it. Proving his mettle with the maximum releases for an actor this year in "Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?" "Raajneeti", "Golmaal 3", "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" and the forgetful "Aakrosh", the National Award winner emerged as the most versatile and dependable actor. To top it all, he is set to close the year with the live-action animation "Toonpur Ka Superhero".

- Omkar Das Manikpuri: No six packs, no film connections and no fanfare, but still this 39-year-old native from Bhilai managed to make his place in a billion hearts with his vulnerable, suicidal and tattered appearance as soon as his modest debut "Peepli Live" hit the screens. The result - you had the common man and now he's got a name, Natha.

- Raghubir Yadav - "Massey Sahib" returned and how! The award-winning seasoned actor might be an irregular with his attendance on the big screen, but when it came to playing Budhia, Natha's elder brother in "Peepli Live", this Mungerilal just struck the right note.

- Shah Rukh Khan: Businessman, actor - actor, businessman. The Badshah of Bollywood, a name often synonymous with larger-than-life cinema on the big screen, found it difficult to maintain his crown this year despite pulling off the role of an autistic youth in "My Name Is Khan" with aplomb. Still wondering why he's on the list? Because he's Khan...Shah Rukh Khan!

- Ali Zafar: While illegal Bollywood discs run on the neighbouring nation's home theatres with panache, the Hindi film industry got an original import in Zafar from Pakistan to produce a sleeper hit "Tere Bin Laden". As for the singer-actor's performance, he definitely left the fairer sex wanting for more.

- Ranbir Kapoor: Nobody believed that this Kapoor family scion will portray the nuances of a conniving and scheming politician with such perfection in "Raajneeti". But this chocolate boy turned into desi Michael Corleone and surprised everyone with his immaculate performance in the political thriller that hit bull's eye at the box office. His antics as lover boy in "Anjaana Anjaani", however, couldn't live up to the wickedness of the character he portrayed.

- Ranvir Singh: Again no pomp and show and no filmy father but this lad from Mumbai managed to do just the appropriate justice to his role as a Delhi munda in Yash Raj Films' hit "Band Baaja Baaraat". With a dream debut and a petite co-star in Anushka Sharma, he was praised for carrying both the film and the actress on his shoulders.

- Rishi Kapoor: Now this is what you call a comeback. Not that Rishi Kapoor has not been active on the celluloid but he certainly has not been doing lead roles. "Do Dooni Char" just brought back the plump kid from "Mera Naam Joker", in his twilight days now, to the big screen in an ovation worthy slice of cinema.

- Ronit Roy: More than 15 years after he made his big screen debut before making a phenomenal breakthrough on the small screen, this actor just proved he has it in him to shake and not stir the audiences with his captive and powerful performance. If there are any adjectives to go by, truly the underdog.