| Batman, Abba assault box-office records |
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| Written by admin | |
New York - Batman sequel The Dark Knight and pop musical adaptation Mama Mia opened over the weekend to set very different box-office records, according to preliminary studio estimates issued Sunday. Starring Christian Bale for a second time as billionaire Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter ego, The Dark Knight lit up cinema cash registers with a record $158.3 million. The updated figures easily beats the $151.1 million opening of “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007 according to Box Office mojo. The domestic box office turned in a record $250 million or more in ticket sales on the “Dark Knight” and the $27.6 million debut of Universal’s “Mamma Mia!,” making it the biggest three-day weekend grosses ever. The former record holder and record weekend tally was $218.4 million, set in early July 2007 when “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” debuted to $135.6 million. “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” took the number five spot in its second weekend, grossing an estimated $10 million.. Disney-Pixar’s “Wall-E” placed No. 6 in the weekend gross. Starz Media “Space Chimps,” distributed by 20th Century Fox, made the No. 7 spot grossing an estimated $7.3 million from 2,511 runs. Taking a nose-dive was New Regency and Fox’s Eddie Murphy horribly reviewed “Meet Dave” which landed at the Number 11 spot. The Dark Knight was fueled by excellent critical reactions particularly for a comic-book adaptation, building on expectations from 2005's Batman Begins, which successfully relaunched the Batman movie franchise, and curiosity for the last performance of co-star Heath Ledger. The Australian native, who plays the villainous Joker opposite Bale, died in January of a drug overdose. Meanwhile, Mama Mia, a screen adaptation of the Broadway show featuring songs from Swedish 1970s pop icons Abba, set a record for a movie musical with a three-day gross of 27.6 million dollars. It stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan in the story of a young woman's wedding and her mother's ex-lovers. |
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