Disney family comedy The Game Plan beat out a terrorism thriller to win the top title at box office in North American this weekend, as the two debuting films staged a fight for audience in US and Canadian theaters, according to preliminary figures released Sunday.
The Los Angeles-base box office tracking firm Media By Numbers said the Disney film starring wrestler-turned-action hero Dwayne The Rock Johnson was on track to sell US$22.7 million worth of tickets over the three-day period.
The other large-scale release this weekend, The Kingdom is estimated to take in 17.7 million dollars in its premiere weekend. The Universal film, about a FBI team investigating an terrorist attack against American civilians in the Middle East, stars Oscar winner Jamie Foxx.
Last week's box office leader Resident Evil: Extinction slipped two slots to third, with about 8 million dollars for the weekend. The Sony Sci-Fi thriller was followed by romantic comedy Good Luck Chuck and western classic remake 3:10 To Yuma with US$6.3 million and 4.2 million respectively.
Chinese Taiwan-born director Ang Lee's much-acclaimed World WarII spy thriller Lust, Caution did well in its debuting weekend in the US, although there is only one New York theater displaying the film. With its take-in of nearly US$62,000, it out performed most films in theaters on average.
The NC-17 rated film about a Chinese woman spy's plot in Shanghai to kill her lover, a man who collaborated with Japanese occupying forces, will expand to more theaters in coming weeks.
The top-selling 12 films this weekend in North America took in a total of US$76.7 million, down 11 percent from the same weekend last year. It was the second straight week that Hollywood saw box office was down after a record hot summer season.
(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2007)
