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THE
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
dethroned Iron Man as ruler at the box office,
pulling down $56.6 million, according to studio
estimates Sunday.
The Walt
Disney Co.’s action sequel took in less domestically in
its opening weekend than The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, which sold
$65.6 million in North America in its debut weekend in
December 2005. Caspian also raked in $20.7 million
overseas.
But
Disney expects the PG-rated movie, based on the C.S.
Lewis fantasy series, to ride high through the coming
Memorial Day weekend. The first Narnia tale
grossed $745 million worldwide over its theatrical run.
THE
highly anticipated sequel to 2005’s The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince
Caspian breaks Iron Man’s two-week stranglehold on the
North American box office.
“This is
a film that we think is going to play all summer long
and it’s got nothing but school holidays in front of
it,” said Mark Zoradi, president of the Walt Disney
Studios Motion Picture Group.
Disney
is in preproduction on the third of the series, The
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader,
set for release in the summer of 2010.
Marvel
Studios’ Iron Man slipped to second place after
two weeks at No. 1 with $31.2 million, bringing its
domestic total to $222.5 million.
Paul
Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By
Numbers Llc., said the flawed superhero flick is holding
its appeal better than Spider-Man 3 did the
previous May.
“Iron
Man continues to hold very well,” he said. “It’s
definitely cutting into audiences across-the-board.”
The 20th
Century Fox comedy What Happens in Vegas,
starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, came in third,
with $13.9 million in its second weekend. Its domestic
total reached $40.3 million, well above its $35-million
budget.
“It’s
clearly the comedy, nonfamily movie in the marketplace
right now,” said Chris Aronson, a Fox senior vice
president. Warner Bros.’ disappointing Speed Racer
slowed to $7.6 million for fourth place, driving in
$29.8 million over two weeks.
The
studio said it was not ready to call it game over on the
Wachowski brothers movie, which cost $120 million to
make.
Jeff
Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ executive vice president of
distribution, said next weekend was “do or die” for the
movie.
Overture
Films’ acclaimed drama, The Visitor, crept into
10th place at the box office with $687,000.
The
distributor picked up the indie film, about a professor
who discovers a couple living in his little-used
New York
apartment, at the Toronto Film Festival for a reported
$1 million. It has grossed $3.4 million so far.
“It’s
good to know that you don’t have to have special effects
in your movie to make money,” said Overture Films’
senior vice president Adam Keen. Indiana Jones and
the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which received a
somewhat ho-hum reaction at the Cannes Film Festival on
Sunday, whips its way into theaters on Thursday.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US
and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers Llc.
1. The
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, $56.6 million
2. Iron
Man, $31.2 million
3. What
Happens in Vegas, $13.9 million
4. Speed
Racer, $7.6 million
5. Baby
Mama, $4.6 million
6. Made
of Honor, $4.5 million
7.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $2.5 million
8.
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantánamo Bay, $1.8 million
9. The
Forbidden Kingdom, $1 million
10. The
Visitor, $687,000
--AP |
