Arnold Schwarzenegger was too busy running California to save the world in the new “Terminator” movie.
The action hero turned California governor starred in the first three films in the blockbuster sci-fi trilogy, but top billing in “Terminator Salvation,” which opens in U.S. theaters
“Angels & Demons,” the film sequel to conspiracy thriller “The Da Vinci Code,” will likely fall short of box office totals for its more religiously controversial predecessor when it opens on Friday.
Director Ron Howard’s “Angels & Demons,” starring Tom Hanks as symbology expert Robert Langdon, should make over $40 million this weekend while 2006’s Da Vinci Code made $77 million at U.S. and Canada box offices, industry watchers say.
Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com Box Office said Angels lacks the buzz of its predecessor.
The new Star Trek film has rocketed to the top of the North American box office chart, early figures show.
Director JJ Abrams’ prequel to the sci-fi franchise took an estimated $76.5m (£50.3m) in its opening weekend, easily beating its nearest rival.
The figure far surpasses the opening totals of the previous 10 Trek films.
Star Trek’s impressive opening pushed previous chart-topper X-Men Origins: Wolverine down to second place, with takings of $27m (£17.7m).
Will “Watchmen” turn out to be a one-week wonder?
That could be a possibility following the film’s disappointing $55.2 million bow last weekend. This time around, Warner Bros.’ superhero picture won’t be helped by the emergence of three wide openers: Disney’s family adventure “Race to Witch Mountain,” Universal’s R-rated horror film “The Last House on the Left” and Fox Atomic’s R-rated youth comedy “Miss March.”
“Witch Mountain” seems strongest among the new pictures. Some industry observers believe it will outpace “Watchmen,” even though the R-rated comic-book adaptation should ring up $20 million or more this frame.
As prestige pics and statuettes hogged the weekend limelight, Tyler Perry’s urban comedy “Madea Goes to Jail” dominated the domestic boxoffice with an estimated $41.1 million opening that represented Lionsgate’s biggest ever.
A “Friday the 13th” remake — which Warner Bros. bowed so well a week earlier — absorbed an enormous 81% drop from its first Friday-Sunday grosses to register $7.8 million in sixth place over the latest session. Paramount is handling international distribution on the New Line-produced horror pic, which has rung up $55 million over its first 10 days.
Sony Screen Gems’ youth comedy “Fired Up” fetched just $6 million in ninth place in the session’s only other wide opening. Yet aside from such occasional misfires with individual releases, it seems the industry boxoffice can do no wrong right now.
