Box Office: 'Karate Kid' triumphs with $56M!

Sony Pictures's remake of "The Karate Kid" delivered a superb start at the North American box office this weekend with a surprisingly strong $56 million in ticket sales, according to estimates Sunday.

Things didn't go that well for Fox's "The A-Team," which came in second with a total of only $26 million. The adaptation of the former TV series scored an average of $7,355 per theater at 3,535 locations.

Count me among those surprised by the performance of "Karate Kid." The film, which runs 140 minutes, only cost $40 million to make, but with this weekend's take, it's already a proftable reboot.

At No. 3, "Shrek Forever After" finished with $15.8 million, reaching a cume of $210 million. Following in fourth place with $10.1 million was "Get Him to the Greek," which reached a total of $36.5 million.

Slipping to No. 5 this weekend was "Killers," which bagged $8.1 million for a $30.6 million total. "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" took No. 6 with a weekend gross of $6.6 million ($72.3 million total).

Fox's bloody "Marmaduke" comedy grabbed another $6 million, enough for seventh place this weekend. Domestically, the dog flick has grossed $22.2 million only.

At No. 8, "Sex and the City 2" brought in $5.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $84.7 million. Following with $4.5 million in ninth place was "Iron Man 2," which reached a cumulative of $299.3 million.

Finally, Warner's horror flick "Splice" rounded out the top 10 with weekend earnings of $2.8 million. The film has reached a $13 million total after close to two weeks in release.

A look ahead: The big winner next week will be "Toy Story 3" of course. The Pixar sequel is opening in close to 4,000 theaters and will take this box office by storm, no doubt in my mind. Also opening wide is "Jonah Hex."

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