Race to Witch Mountain defeated its competition at the North American box office this weekend with $24.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Directed by Andy Fickman, Walt Disney's latest adventure stars Dwayne Johnson as a Las Vegas taxi driver helping two alien kids (AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig) return to their spaceship. The film is based on the book by Alexander Key. A previous version of that story, Escape to Witch Mountain, was released in 1975.
Last week's winner, Zack Snyder's Watchmen, dropped to No. 2, earning $17.8 million for a domestic total of $85.7 million. Based on the celebrated graphic novel by Alan Moore, the film tells the story of a group of superheroes investigating the murder of one of their colleagues.
Debuting in third place with $14.1 million was Dennis Iliadis' The Last House on the Left, a remake of Wes Craven's 1972 controversial horror flick of the same title. The plot follows two parents seeking revenge against a group of sociopaths who raped their daughter.
Meanwhile, Pierre Morel's action thriller Taken picked up another $6.5 million at No. 4, reaching a cumulative gross of $126.7 million after a strong seven-week run. Liam Neeson stars as a determined father trying to track down his kidnapped daughter.
At No. 5, Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail earned $5.1 million, bringing its total haul to $83.1 million. Following closely in sixth place was Danny Boyle's Academy Award-winner Slumdog Millionaire, which brought its total gross to $132.6 million after this weekend's earnings of $5 million.
Kevin James' comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop was still doing its rounds at the bottom of the top 10, taking home $3.1 million for a cumulative gross of $137.7 million. Ken Kwapis' He's Just Not That Into You (above) lifted its domestic total to $89 million in eighth place.
Rounding out the top 10 were Henry Selick's 3D stop-motion adventure Coraline, which pulled $2.7 million at No. 9 and reached a total of $69.2 million, and new entry Miss March (above), directed by and starring Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore, which finished tenth with a weekend gross of only $2.4 million.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)
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I actually really enjoyed the new Witch Mountain. I think Duane did a great job. The firs two movies were two of my childhood favorites, and I really enjoyed the special effects. Story was pretty good, but fun to watch for nostalgia's sake!