Superbad soared to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$31.2 million.
The teen comedy produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Greg Mottola opened at 2,948 sites on Friday, beating the $30 million opening weekend of Apatow's comedy Knocked Up, which was released on June 1.
Last week's winner Rush Hour 3 dropped to the No. 2 spot, earning $21.8 million from ticket sales at 3,778 locations. Directed by Brett Ratner, the third installment in the popular series starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan lifted its cumulative gross to $88.2 million after only two weeks.
Meanwhile, Paul Greengrass' action-thriller The Bourne Ultimatum slipped from No. 2 to No. 3, scoring $19 million and reaching a total haul of $163.8 million. The third installment in the series based on Robert Ludlum's novels is barely $13 million away from surpassing its predecessor, The Bourne Supremacy.
Down to the No. 4 spot, The Simpsons Movie performed strong at the box office this weekend with $6.7 million. The David Silverman-directed movie is still playing in 3,162 theaters and lifted its cumulative to $165.1 million after four weeks in release.
New entry The Invasion (above) opened at No. 5, taking home $6.0 million from 2,776 locations. The science-fiction thriller credited to director Oliver Hirschbiegel — of the controversial Downfall — received mixed reviews, but still managed to jump into the top five, unlike this week's third major opening, The Last Legion, which ranked in twelfth with $2.5 million.
This upcoming weekend, four major releases will compete for the top spot at the box office.
In Robert Pulcini's The Nanny Diaries, Scarlett Johansson stars as a college student who becomes a nanny to a chaotic family that will test her limits and teach her a valuable lesson. The romantic comedy will open at 1,800 locations this Friday.
Rowan Atkinson returns as Mr. Bean in Mr. Bean's Holiday, sequel to the 1997 hit Mr. Bean. This time, Mr. Bean attracts trouble on his way to Cannes, where he involuntarily ends up on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival. Bean debuts in 1,580 theaters.
Also opening is Resurrecting the Champ, a drama focusing on a sports reporter who meets a forgotten boxing legend. Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett star.
If you had a good time watching Jason Statham chasing Jet Li in the 2001 action hit The One, look out for War, an adrenaline-fueled action spectacle about an FBI agent (Statham) who seeks revenge against a ruthless assassin (Li). War is scheduled to hit 2,200 theaters.
Opening in limited release are Franc. Reyes' gangster-drama Illegal Tender, Christopher Cain's September Dawn, Justin Theroux's experimental comedy Dedication, and the Ethan Hawke-directed romance The Hottest State, which is based on his own novel.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)
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How awful when trash like Superbad makes money. That means sequels like Superworse and Superworst. SuperShit, I say.