'Avengers' outguns 'Battleship' at box offices

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)

The Avengers (Movie Review)

Film: In a multi-hero film it is tough to do justice to each character. Imagine a multi-superhero film? Yet to the delight of movie lovers, second-time feature director Joss Whedon proves himself to be a superhero as he pulls the impossible with fun, humour and unbelievable panache in "The Avengers".

SHIELD director Nick Fury (Jackson) manages to assemble six superheroes when Loki (Hiddleston) threatens to destroy the Earth. Sadly, strong personalities don't make a good team and our superheroes fight with one another.

It is only when everything seems lost, that our superheroes realise that alone they might be lost, confused souls, but together they become something they never thought they could be - the invincible avengers.

The film is so engaging that despite some flaws, you choose to ignore these. It is witty, smart and funny, with enough comic-book humour and elements of delight for everyone from a five-year-old to an 85-year-old.

So, everything you can imagine in a film with multiple superheroes - great action, good costume, witty writing, good subplots and most of all, the superheroes fighting one another - is there in the film. It's been designed for success and this design works like a charm.

Not one character has been given extra attention while giving enough time to establish the characters of the two who don't have a separate film yet - Black Widow and Hawk Eye.

"The Avengers" thus become a surprising example of too much being put in one film, yet it working out in the end.

The long-winding, extended climax is an absolutely delight. The length is just perfect. Any shorter and it would have not done justice to the characterisations and any longer would have made it boring.

Yet, you do miss a few elements while a few others jar. A cameo by Natalie Portman (from "Thor"), like that of Gwyneth Paltrow is missed. "The Hulk", who so far we learnt couldn't control his anger, in the climax suddenly develops it becoming an adorable green monster who's as strong as he is cute. A little on how he got there, would have been better.

Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the evil but vulnerable villain outdone by his megalomania, does the best job of "acting".

"The Avengers" is a watershed film because it is a new concept. It is the culmination of the build-up of multiple films - two "Iron Man", "Hulk', "Thor" and "Captain America". This culmination also marks the beginning of a new franchisee.

Thus, this multi-hero film itself becomes a metaphor and a tribute to the literally thousands upon thousands of people who worked in unison in the films mentioned above to lead to this very satisfying end which is also a beginning.

Each one of them showed, like the film's main theme of brotherhood, what it is to work together for a common goal. Perhaps in it lies a message for real life, that our governments could do the same with the world. For even in real life, planet Earth is in desperate need of saving with no superheroes in sight.