'Clash of the Titans' still rules overseas box office

Although Warner's remake of "Clash of the Titans" bid farewell to the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend, the action adventure starring Sam Worthington continued its overseas reign with a solid gross of $53.6 million. The film's total international haul currently stands at $188.7 million.

Meanwhile, Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" switched spots with DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon." "Wonderland" finished second on the circuit with $34 million after opening in more territories this weekend. Overseas, the Disney flick has grossed a superb $503.5 million.

Following with $15.5 million in third place was "Dragon," which lifted its cumulative gross to $176.5 million. At No. 4, Shawn Levy's new comedy "Date Night" picked up $8.1 million for an early overseas total of $17.8 million. "The Bounty Hunter" took the No. 5 spot with a weekend take of $7 million ($51.5 million cume).

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Box Office: 'How to Train Your Dragon' takes $43M

Weekend of March 26 – 28, 2010

DreamWorks Animation’s 3D adventure “How to Train Your Dragon” slammed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a decent $43.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates. It’s not a bad start for the animated flick, but a sudden hike in 3D ticket prices may have hurt its potential weekend gross a little.

“Dragon” is now playing at 4,055 locations, but the film brought in less than DreamWorks’ “Monsters vs. Aliens” last year. “Aliens” played at only 4,011 locations but managed to grab $60 million during opening weekend. “Dragon” follows a young Viking who bonds with an injured dragon and swears to protect him from the people of his tribe.

Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” dropped to second place, earning another $17.3 million. Disney’s 3D version of the classic tale lifted its domestic gross to $293.1 million after an incredibly successful three-week run. The film is currently playing at 3,384 locations.

Meanwhile, new entry “Hot Tub Time Machine” debuted at No. 3 with $13.6 million from ticket sales at 2,754 sites. Starring Craig Robinson, John Cusack, Clark Duke and Rob Corddry, the comedy follows four friends who visit a ski resort to party hard and end up being transported back to 1986 after a wild night in a hot tub.

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'Alice' destroys overseas box office again

What is up with Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland"? Disney's 3D adventure just seems unstoppable, and this weekend, it bagged another stunning $47 million overseas, lifting its foreign total to a solid $300 million. But hey, it gets better: worldwide, the movie has already earned $565.8 million, and that's only after three weeks in release. How far will this monster hit go?

At a distant No. 2, Martin Scorsese's decent thriller "Shutter Island" picked up another $15.1 million, reaching a total gross of $70.7 million. That's certainly not bad for the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a marshal investigating the mysterious disappearance of a prisoner of a weird island institution. "Shutter Island" is now playing in 44 markets.

Meanwhile, James Cameron's sci-fi hit flick "Avatar" finished third on the international circuit this weekend, picking up $13 million. Overseas, the film has reached $1.937 billion. Cameron recently spoke about a possible re-release of the film latrer in the year, but that's unconfirmed at this point. He believes the film could make even more money. Of course...

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'Alice in Wonderland' wins again with $34M

The weekend estimates for the North American box office are in, and Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" scored another stunning $34.5 million in ticket sales. Domestically, the film has reached $265.8 million. That's a superb result for a film that's barely three weeks in release.

This week's new releases followed. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" bagged $21.8 million, while "The Bounty Hunter" earned $21 million. "Repo Men" collected $6.1 million. "The Runaways," opening in limited release, only picked up $803,000 at 244 locations.

Here are the remaining results: "She's Out of My League," $6 million; "Green Zone," $5.9 million; "Shutter Island," 4.7 million; "Avatar," 4 million; "Our Family Wedding," $3.8 million; and "Remember Me," $3.3 million (that's a huge drop for the Robert Pattinson flick).

The detailed box office report will be posted here soon. Stay tuned.

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

'Alice in Wonderland' rules foreign box office

Tim Burton and his "Alice in Wonderland" took the worldwide box office by storm last week when the Disney 3D release opened everywhere, and now the film is still leading charts domestically and overseas. On the international circuit, the film took an estimated $76 million this weekend, and its foreign cume now stands at a superb $221 million.

Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" is doing just fine as well internationally, scoring another $19.2 million in 43 territories. The film brought its total gross to $82 million. Following in third place with $17 million was James Cameron's "Avatar," which reached a cumulative gross of $1.914 billion.

Meanwhile, No. 4 this weekend was Paul Greengrass' war thriller "Green Zone," which bagged $9.7 million in 14 markets. Matt Damon plays a U.S. solider who runs into trouble with officials when he starts to believe the Iraqi WMD program doesn't exist.

At No. 5, Chris Columbus' adventure "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" collected $6.3 million, lifting its international total to $120.5 million. Still in the race was Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes," which generated $6.1 million. "Valentine's Day" earned $3.5 million.

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Box Office: 'Alice in Wonderland' takes $62M!

Weekend of March 12 – 14, 2010: 'Alice' still going strong while new releases struggle...

Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” continued its North American box office reign this weekend with a stunning three-day gross of $62 million in ticket sales at 3,728 locations, according to studio estimates Sunday. Domestically, “Alice” has now grossed $208.6 million in a little more than one week.

New entry “Green Zone,” Paul Greengrass’ explosive war thriller starring Matt Damon, debuted in second place with $14.5 million. Playing at 3,003 locations, the film scored an average of $4,840 per theater. Damon plays a U.S. soldier who starts doubting the existence of the Iraqi WMDs program.

Following at No. 3 this weekend was Jim Field Smith’s charming comedy “She’s Out of My League,” which bagged $9.6 million from ticket sales at 2,956 sites. The Paramount release stars Jay Baruchel as an insecure airport security guard whose life takes a surprising turn when a hot event planner asks him on a date.

Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson’s new film “Remember Me” finished fourth on the chart, earning $8.3 million. The “Twilight” star plays a young man who struggles with the suicide of his brother and falls in love with a young woman whose mother was murdered when she was a young girl.

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'Alice in Wonderland' takes $17M Friday!

The estimates are in! Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" easily held on to the top spot at the North American box office Friday with a stunning $17.4 million in ticket sales. Disney's big 3D hit adventure reached a cumulative gross of $164 million after only one week in release, and that's quite a solid result.

The new releases occupied the rest of the top five Friday, according to estimates. Paul Greengrass' war thriller "Green Zone" took No. 2 with a daily gross of $5 million. The film stars Matt Damon as a soldier who's pissed that he can't find Saddam's WMDs anywhere. Universal's "Green Zone" is playing at 3,003 sites.

Following in third place with $3.6 million was "Remember Me," Robert Pattinson's new drama. The Allen Coulter-directed film follows two youngsters who fall in love. At No. 4, Paramount's new comedy "She's Out of My League" bagged $3.3 million. The film stars Jay Baruchel as a dude who meets a hot chick but can't understand why she would want to spend time with him.

"Our Family Wedding," the fourth wide release this weekend, debuted with $2,5 million in fifth place. Starring Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera and Regina King, the comedy follows what happens to a couple in the chaotic weeks leading up to their wedding.

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

Movie Review: “Green Zone”

Seen on: March 9, 2010

The players: Director: Paul Greengrass, Writer: Brian Helgeland, Cast: Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson

Facts of interest: None.

The plot: A military man who is sent to look for WMDs in Iraq gets suspicious of the U.S. government when he comes up empty.

Our thoughts: Paul Greengrass’ war thriller “Green Zone” is an incredibly fast-paced action flick that kidnapped my full attention from the start and kept me ensnared until the very end. It’s an experience that will certainly draw a bunch of hate from some cinemagoers, but in my book, it delivers the goods and doesn’t blow any smoke about the messages it wants to convey.

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Will 'Alice in Wonderland' keep box office glory?

It is very likely that Tim Burton's 3D adventure "Alice in Wonderland" will top the North American box office again this weekend, and this despite the wave of new wide releases that will open in theaters tomorrow. So far, "Wonderland" has scored $139.8 million domestically.

That's what the total stands at after less than one full week in release. "Alice" took everyone by surprise last week when it delivered a monster opening of $116 million. It's also been doing very well this week, with daily grosses of $9 million, $7 million and $6 million for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The new releases this week include Matt Damon's war thriller "Green Zone," which opens in 2,900 locations and should perform well. "She's Out of My League" was promoted intensely as well, and it opens at 2,700 sites. Robert Pattinson's new film "Remember Me" debuts in 1,900 locations.

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Paul Greengrass won't do fourth 'Bourne' film

I love Paul Greengrass' films, and I was looking forward to him helming another "Bourne" flick, but according to The Playlist, the filmmaker won't return to direct another Jason Bourne installment. Bummer.

The project is quite messy, apparently, as two scripts are circling around and nothing has been decided on yet. George Nolfi wrote one, and Joshua Zetumer wrote another one, but no one consulted Greengrass.

The Playlist also points out that Greengrass' upcoming action flick "Green Zone" cost way much more money Universal wanted to spend. This could be another reason for his departure. He's too expensive.

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