Box Office: 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' scores $87M

Weekend of May 1 – May 3, 2009

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” slashed its competition at the North American box office with a strong $87 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Released by 20th Century Fox, the Gavin Hood-directed action spectacle scored an average of $21,225 per theater at 4,099 locations.

Starring Hugh Jackman in the title role, the film follows Wolverine as he seeks revenge against the evil-minded Victor Creed (Live Schreiber) and William Stryker (Danny Huston).

Debuting in second place with $15.3 million was Mark Waters’ latest romantic comedy “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” which stars Matthew McConaughey as a celeb photographer who’s visited by three ghosts during the weekend of his brother’s wedding.

Last week’s box office champion “Obsessed” slipped to No. 3, pulling $12.2 million and reaching a domestic total of $47 million after two weeks in release. The thriller directed by Steve Shill stars Idris Elba, Ali Larter and Beyonce Knowles.

Meanwhile, Zac Efron’s latest comedy “17 Again” earned $6.3 million at No. 4, bringing its cumulative gross to $48.4 million after a three-week run.

At No. 5, “Monsters vs. Aliens” collected another $5.8 million, reaching a total haul of $182.4 million. Following closely in sixth place with $5.6 million was “The Soloist,” which lifted its cume to $18.1 million.

Disneynature’s “Earth” dropped to No. 7 with a weekend gross of $4.1 million and a total of $21.8 million, while Dito Montiel’s “Fighting” also picked up $4.1 million at No. 8 for a domestic total of $17.5 million.

Peter Chelsom’s “Hannah Montana: The Movie” broke the $70 million mark this weekend after taking home $4 million in ninth place, while “State of Play” took home $3.6 million for a cumulative gross of $30.8 million.

“Battle for Terra,” the weekend’s third wide release, only finished at No. 12 with $1 million.

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