Box Office: 'Nightmare on Elm Street' wins race

Samuel Bayer's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" isn't exactly a winner in terms of quality, but the Warner Bros. remake of the horror classic slashed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $32.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Elm Street" debuted at 3,332 locations and scored an average of $9,665 per theater. The film stars Jackie Earle Haley as the famous horror icon Freddy Krueger, who sets out to kill youngsters in their sleep. The film lacks suspense and innovation, but its quick success prompted Warner to consider a sequel already.

This week's other wide release, "Furry Vengeance," tanked at the box office after finishing fifth with only $6.5 million. The Brendan Fraser comedy is a terribly embarrassing mess, and I think it got what it deserved. The story follows a developer entering a war with a bunch of angry forest animals.

At No. 2, "How to Train Your Dragon" picked up $10.8 million, reaching a total gross of $192.3 million. Although the film is now finally losing some of its momentum at the top of the box office chart, it is expected to cross the $200 million mark next week. The 3D-animated adventure has had quite the solid run.

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Box Office: 'Train Your Dragon' back on top!

DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train your Dragon" swallowed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with $15 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was a weak weekend at the movies, but the 3D-animated pic easily reclaimed the No. 1 spot.

The new releases this weeked delivered disappointing performances, with Jennifer Lopez's new comedy "The Back-up Plan" scoring $12.2 million in second place. The film opened at 3,280 locations, reaching an average of $3,735 per theater. Story follows JLO as she meets the man of her dreams right after getting pregnant.

Meanwhile, Sylvain White's big-screen adaptation of the comic "The Losers" came in fourth only with $9.6 million. The action flick starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Zoe Saldana is now playing at 2,936 sites, and the story follows a team of black ops soldiers seeking revenge against the man who betrayed them.

Disneynature released "Oceans" on Earth Day, and the documentary about the planet's oceans and its fantastic creatures only made it to No. 8 this weekend, collecting $6 million. The film reached a total gross of $8,4 million. "Oceans" is currently showing at 1,206 locations only.

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'The Back-up Plan' rules box office... for now

I still haven't managed to drag myself to see Jennifer Lopez's new comedy "The Back-up Plan" (but will do so tomorrow bright and early), but the Alan Poul-directed flick finished first at the North American box office Friday with an estimated $4.2 million in ticket sales from 3,280 locations.

Yes, that seems pretty shocking, even though I'm convinced the film won't emerge as overall weekend winner. I bet DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" will regain momentum today and tomorrow and fly back to No. 1. On Friday, it was second with a daily gross of $3.4 million.

Domestically, "Dragon" has now reached $166.4 million. The remaining new entries didn't perform as well, with "The Losers" only securing the fourth spot with $3.2 million. Meanwhile, Disneynature's "Oceans" came in eighth only Friday, earning $2 million from ticket sales at 1,206 locations.

At No. 3, Shawn Levy's comedy "Date Night" picked up $3.3 million, reaching a total haul of $56.1 million. Last week's winner "Kick-Ass" took a big dive Friday, collecting only $2.8 million at No. 5 ($28.1 million total). Go see that flick if you haven't already, because it's incredibly entertaining and hilarious.

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Kick this: 'Kick-Ass' is No. 1 at box office after all!

Matthew Vaughn's fantastic comic book adaptation "Kick-Ass" is the box office leader after all. Weekend actuals show "Kick-Ass" beat DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" by almost nothing. "Ass" bagged $19.8 million while "Dragon" picked up $19.6 million, and not $20 million.

Note: Lionsgate includes earnings from Thursday night showings in the weekend's gross. This is usually not the case, but it explains why "Kick-Ass" jumped to No. 1.

That's certainly goods new for the Lionsgate flick, even though we have to remember it still underperformed at the box office. Meanwhile, "Date Night" earned $16.7 million, while "Death at a Funeral" opened with $16.2 million, and not $17 million. "Clash of the Titans" brought home $15.3 million.

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

'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: 'Dragon' defeats new entries!

DreamWorks Animation's 3D-anmiated adventure "How to Train Your Dragon" swallowed its competition at the North American box office this weekend and reclaimed the No. 1 spot with a solid three-day gross of $20 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The film is now in its fourth week of release.

"Dragon" beat new entries "Kick-Ass" and "Death at a Funeral," which didn't really live up to box office expectations. Matthew Vaughn's "Kick-Ass" came in second with $19.7 million via an average of $6,444 per theater at 3,065 locations. Analysts predicted the comic book adaptation would win the weekend.

Meanwhile, Neil LaBute's remake "Death at a Funeral" debuted at No. 4 with $17 million. Starring Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, the comedy follows a family's misadventures during a funeral ceremony. "Funeral," which scored an average of $6,913 per theater, is now playing at 2,459 locations.

"How to Train Your Dragon," by the way, lifted its domestic total to $158.6 million. The third spot on the circuit went to Shawn Levy's comedy "Date Night," which bagged another $17.3 million and brought its total gross to $49.2 million. Tina Fey and Steve Carell star.

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'Kick-Ass' leads Friday box office with $7M

Matthew Vaughn's "Kick-Ass" didn't exactly kick butt at the North American box office Friday. The Lionsgate release based on the comic by Mark Millar only bagged $7.6 million from ticket sales at 3,065 locations, and that's a lot less than box office analysts predicted. It's shame, because the film is fantastic.

Starring Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage, among others, the film follows a teenager trying to spice uo his life by becoming a costumed vigilante. "Kick-Ass" generated a lot of buzz prior to its theatrical release, but the action-packed movie only scored an average of $2,480 per theater.

Debuting in second place with $5.6 million was Neil LaBute's remake of "Death of a Funeral," which Screen Gems released at 2,459 locations. Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence star in the comedy about a family's misadventures during a funeral ceremony. The film scored an average of $2,277 per theater.

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Movie Review: 'Kick-Ass'

Seen on: April 7, 2010

The players: Director: Matthew Vaughn, Writers: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Cast: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage

Facts of interest: Based on the comic by Mark Millar (illustrated by John Romita)

The plot: Tells the story of Dave, a teenager who decides to become a superhero in order to make his life more interesting.

Our thoughts: Matthew Vaughn’s “Kick-Ass” is a masterpiece. There, I said it. It’s a film that explodes onto the big screen and pulls you right into the middle of the most awesome action, and it barely gives you a minute to breathe. It’s a thrilling ride from start to finish, and truth be told, it totally blew my socks off. I’ve seen it twice already, and I’m still as stoked about it as ever.

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New, shorter 'Kick-Ass' trailer lands on web

The folks at Apple today premiered a shorter, one-minute trailer for Matthew Vaughn's upcoming action pic "Kick-Ass," a film I have seen and absolutely adored. I won't be able to publish my review for a while, but what I can say is that the film is one of the most entertaining ones I have seen in... wow... a while. Anyway, check out this new trailer after the jump. It does include some new footage from the film.

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Three awesome 'Kick-Ass' posters debut

In case you don't know it yet, Matthew Vaughn's "Kick-Ass" is currently my favorite film of 2010. I know it's still very early and all, but I usually don't get a chance to hand out a 10/10 rating this early in the year. "Kick-Ass" has earned it though, and the film will open in theaters April 16, 2010. Three fantastic new posters for the film have now debuted online, and you can check them out below. Man, I want them.

Based on the comics by Mark Millar, the film follows a boring high school student (Aaron Johnson) who attempts to become a real-life superhero named Kick-Ass and inspires others to do the same. Kick-Ass is the guy in the green suit below, and he's followed by Christopher Mintz-Plasse's Red Mist and Chloe Moretz's Hit Girl, my personal favorite. Let me tell you right now, you'll instantly fall in love with this girl.

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