By Franck Tabouring 

Weekend of April 18 – 20

Jackie Chan and Jet Li’s martial-arts extravaganza “The Forbidden Kingdom” fought its way to the top of the North American box office this weekend with $20.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Released by Lionsgate and directed by Rob Minkoff, “The Forbidden Kingdom” follows the adventures of an American teenager who’s sent back to ancient China, where he joins a group of warriors attempting to free an imprisoned king.

Universal’s romantic comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” debuted in second place with $17.3 million from ticket sales at 2,798 sites. Produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Nicolas Stoller, the film stars Jason Segel in the role of a musician who struggles to get over his ex-girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell).       

Last week’s box office champ “Prom Night” slipped to No. 3, collecting $9.1 million from 2,700 locations. The Nelson McCormick-directed horror flick, with Brittany Snow playing a teenager chased by a sadistic killer, brought its domestic total to $32.5 million after a two-week run.  

Sony’s crime thriller “88 Minutes,” starring Al Pacino as a forensic psychiatrist who receives a call telling him he has 88 minutes to live, opened in fourth place this weekend with only $6.8 million.

Meanwhile, “Nim’s Island” tumbled to No. 5 with a weekend gross of $5.6 million and a total haul of $32.8 million after three weeks in release. Directed by Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, the film stars Abigail Breslin as a young adventurer who inhabits a secret island with her father (Gerard Butler).

Robert Luketic’s crime drama “21,” from Sony Pictures, dropped to sixth place with $5.5 million. Starring Jim Sturgess as a gifted MIT student who spends his weekends gambling in Las Vegas, the movie lifted its cumulative gross to $69.9 million after a strong four-week run.

Following at No. 7 was David Ayer’s crime thriller “Street Kings,” which took home $4 million. Released by Fox Searchlight and starring Keanu Reeves as a veteran cop who’s implicated in his ex-partner’s murder, the movie reached a domestic total of $19.8 million after two weeks in release.

At No. 8, “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” pulled $3.5 million and brought its total to $144.4 million, followed closely by new entry “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” which debuted in ninth place with a weekend gross of $3.1 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was Universal’s sports comedy “Leatherheads,” which earned $3 million and lifted its cumulative gross to $26.5 million after a weak three-week run.

Exiting the top 10 this weekend were Noam Murro’s “Smart People” with a total of $6.8 million, and Craig Mazin’s “Superhero Movie” with a domestic total of $23.5 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)