LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sylvester Stallone and his beefy buddies have muscled their way to the top of the weekend box office.
Stallone's action hero roundup "The Expendables 2" debuted at No. 1 with $28.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. That's down from the $34.8 million start for "The Expendables" two years ago.
The Lionsgate sequel elbowed out another action tale as Universal's "The Bourne Legacy"
fell to No. 2 in its second weekend with $17 million. That was a steep
55 percent drop from its $38.1 million opening weekend, though the
movie's domestic total climbed to a solid $69.6 million.
Three other wide releases opened to modest business.
Focus
Features' animated comedy "ParaNorman, about a boy leading the fight
against zombies that rise from the grave, was No. 3 with $14 million.
Sony's music remake "Sparkle," featuring "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks and Whitney Houston, was No. 5 with $12 million. The update of the 1976 movie centers on three sisters who form a singing group in the late 1960s.
Disney's
family fantasy "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" was No. 7 with $10.9
million. The movie stars Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton as a
childless couple who become instant parents to a boy that magically
appears in their lives.
The newcomers and holdovers combined to lift Hollywood's
overall business. Domestic revenues totaled $139 million, up 12 percent
from the same weekend last year, when "The Help" led with $20 million,
according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.
Business had been
down the previous three weekends this summer, which has fallen short of
the record-setting business many studio executives were predicting at
the start of the season.
Since the first weekend of May, revenues total $3.9 billion, down 5 percent from last summer's, when Hollywood finished with an all-time high of $4.4 billion for the season, according to Hollywood.com.
This
summer delivered huge hits such as "The Avengers" with $617.6 million
domestically and "The Dark Knight Rises," which took in $11.1 million
this weekend to cross the $400 million mark and edge past "The Hunger
Games" to become the year's second-biggest hit.
But other releases
such as "Dark Shadows," ''Battleship," ''The Watch" and "Total Recall"
were duds that failed to live up to the summer's hype.
With only two weekends left in the season and no obvious hits premiering, it's unlikely that Hollywood will break last summer's record.
"We're
winding down the summer and we're in the dog days of August. They're
called that for a reason, because we're experiencing the typical summer
slowdown, only it seems worse this year," said Hollywood.com analyst
Paul Dergarabedian.
"The Expendables 2" also pulled in $17.3 million overseas.
Along with Stallone, "The Expendables 2" cast includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
While
the sequel drew smaller crowds than the first movie, distributor
Lionsgate noted that business held up better for the new one in its
second day. Revenues dipped only 3 percent from Friday to Saturday
compared to 11 percent for "The Expendables," according to Lionsgate.
That's a sign that more first-night fans may be talking up the sequel, which also earned better reviews than the original.
"We
believe with solid word of mouth and even critical response to the
film, that bodes well for the playability," said David Spitz, Lionsgate's head of distribution. "It's the old, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon."
"Sparkle"
was the first movie since 1996's "The Preacher's Wife," for Houston,
who died in February. The movie was produced on a small $14 million
budget, so it will not be a financial burden to Sony despite its modest
earnings.
A star's death often boosts audience interest, as happened with Heath Ledger and the Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" or Michael Jackson and the hit music documentary "Michael Jackson: This Is It."
That
did not hold true for "Sparkle," in which Houston had a supporting role
as the stern but loving mother of the three singers.
"I
don't think that was ever in the cards where there was this sudden
interest in seeing the movie," Dergarabedian said. "There didn't seem to
be that kind of, 'oh, it's Whitney Houston's last movie, we've got to go see it' attitude."
Estimated
ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters,
according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international
numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released
Monday.
1. "The Expendables 2," $28.8 million ($17.3 million international).
2. "The Bourne Legacy," $17 million ($18.2 million international).
3. "ParaNorman," $14 million ($2 million international).
4. "The Campaign," $13.4 million.
5. "Sparkle," $12 million.
6. "The Dark Knight Rises," $11.1 million ($20.6 million international).
7. "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," $10.9 million.
8. "Hope Springs," $9.1 million ($700,000 international).
9. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days," $3.9 million ($867,000 international).
10. "Total Recall," $3.5 million ($19 million international).
___
Estimated
weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and
Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according
to Rentrak:
1. "The Dark Knight Rises," $20.6 million.
2. "Total Recall," $19 million.
3. "The Bourne Legacy," $18.2 million.
4. "The Expendables 2," $17.3 million.
5. "Brave," $14.4 million.
6. "Ted," $11.8 million.
7. "Ice Age: Continental Drift," $10.1 million.
8. "Step Up: Revolution," $9.2 million.
9 (tie). "The Avengers," $6.7 million.
9 (tie). "The Thieves," $6.7 million.
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