KUNG FU PANDA Messes with the ZOHAN (and Wins)
Kung Fu Panda defeated its competition at the North American box office this weekend with US$60 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
DreamWorks Animation’s adventure tale about a lazy panda trying to learn the basics of kung fu, overpowered Adam Sandler’s new comedy You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, which debuted in second place with $40 million.
Released by Sony and directed by Dennis Dugan, Zohan stars Sandler as an Israeli commando who travels to the United States to become a hair stylist. The movie outperformed Sandler’s previous comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, which opened with $34.2 million in 2007.
At No. 3, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull collected an impressive $22.8 million, reaching a domestic total of $253 million after only three weeks in release. Steven Spielberg’s sequel got ahead of last week’s box-office champ Sex and the City, which slipped to fourth place with a weekend gross of $21.3 million.
New Line Cinema’s big-screen adaptation of the popular HBO series lifted its cumulative gross to $99.2 million after a strong two-week run. Directed by Michael Patrick King, the romantic comedy follows the adventures of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), and her friends Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon).
Universal’s horror flick The Strangers dropped to No. 5 with $9.2 million, bringing its domestic total to $37.6 million. Directed by Bryan Bertino, the film stars Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler as a couple struggling to survive the invasion of their vacation home by three masked strangers.
Meanwhile, Paramount’s action spectacle Iron Man ranked in sixth this weekend with $7.5 million. The Jon Favreau-directed comic-book adaptation starring Robert Downey Jr. as an industrialist-turned-superhero, reached a total haul of $288.8 million after six weeks in release.
Slipping to No.7 with $5.5 million was The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which lifted its total gross to $125.8 million. The romantic comedy What Happens in Vegas followed in eighth place with $3.4 million, bringing its cumulative take to $72.2 million after a five-week run.
Two films rounded out the top 10: Universal’s comedy Baby Mama pulled in $779,000 at No. 9, while Sony’s Made of Honor followed at No. 10 with $775,000.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)
SEX AND THE CITY Tops Box office
INDIANA JONES Dethrones PRINCE CASPIAN
PRINCE CASPIAN Overthrows IRON MAN
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM Rules at the Box Office
PROM NIGHT Slashes Competition
Box Office Report: March 28–30, 2008
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