Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian outran its competition at the North American box office this weekend with $53.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Shawn Levy’s sequel to the 2006 hit stars Ben Stiller (above, with Robin Williams and Ricky Gervais) as a former museum security guard who heads to the Smithsonian to rescue his pals from the hands of a ruthless Egyptian leader. The film pulled $23.1 million more during opening weekend than its predecessor.
At No. 2, McG’s Terminator Salvation debuted with $43 million. The fourth installment in the popular Terminator series stars Christian Bale as John Connor, who leads the human resistance in a battle against the machines in the year 2018.
Meanwhile, J. J. Abrams’ Star Trek, featuring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, slipped to third place, earning $21.9 million and reaching a domestic total of $183.5 million.
Following closely in fourth place was Ron Howard’s Angels & Demons, starring Tom Hanks, which picked up $21.4 million for a cume of $81.5 million after two weeks in release.
The Wayans brothers’ latest spoof comedy, Dance Flick, finished at No. 5 with only $11.1 million. The film follows a small-town girl who heads out to pursue her dream of getting into Juilliard.
Gavin Hood’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman, dropped to No. 6, taking home $7.8 million for a total haul of $163 million after a decent four-week run. At No. 7, Mark Waters’ comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, brought its cumulative gross to $45.8 million after weekend earnings of $3.7 million.
At the bottom of the top 10, Beyoncé Knowles’ thriller Obsessed scored $2 million, lifting its domestic total to $65.9 million. Meanwhile, Monsters vs. Aliens collected another $1.3 million in ninth place ($192.9 million total gross).
At No. 10, Zac Efron’s 17 Again brought its total haul to $60.3 million after pulling in $1 million this weekend.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)