‘Prince Caspian’ Rules at the Box Office
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” dethroned “Iron Man” as ruler at the box office, pulling down $56.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Walt Disney’s action sequel, starring Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian, took in less domestically in its opening weekend than “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” which sold $65.6 million in North America in its debut weekend in 2005. “Caspian” also raked in $20.7 million overseas.
But Disney expects the PG-rated movie, based on the C.S. Lewis fantasy series, to ride high through the coming Memorial Day weekend. The first “Narnia” tale grossed $745 million worldwide over its theatrical run.
“This is a film that we think is going to play all summer long and it’s got nothing but school holidays in front of it,” said Mark Zoradi, president of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Group.
“Caspian” has a fight on its hand. The most anticipated movie of the summer, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” opens Thursday. The fourth Indy installment, starring Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf, was screened twice Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival, with fans even cheering during the opening credits.
Rounding out the top five at the weekend box office was “Iron Man” at No. 2 with $31.2 million; “What Happens in Vegas” at No. 3 with $13.9 million; “Speed Racer” at No. 4 with $7.6 million; and “Baby Mama” with $4.6 million.
Iron Man Soars Above Competition at North American Box Office
Iron Man battered the competition for the second consecutive weekend as an estimated $50.5m haul through Paramount Pictures raised the running total to $177.1m.The result consolidated the Marvel Studios adaptation as the season’s first bona fide blockbuster and relegated new openers Speed Racer from Warner Bros and What Happens In Vegas from Fox to second and third, respectively.
Box office was up 21% against the same weekend last year as the top 12 films combined for $128m. Year-on-year 2008 still trails 2007 by some 2.5% at this stage in the game.
Speed Racer disappointed on $20.2m. The family film was adapted from the 1960s Japanese anime television series by Andy and Larry Wachowski in their first outing as directors since The Matrix Revolutions opened in 2003.
Emile Hirsch stars as a talented racing driver in a high profile cast alongside Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox.
Opening in third place on $20m was the romantic comedy What Happens In Vegas with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. By the time actual results are confirmed on Monday, What Happens In Vegas and Speed Racer may switch places. Read the rest of this entry
Brand New Trailer For ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’
Walt Disney Pictures has released a brand new trailer for the upcoming “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” featuring lots of new scenes of the amazing action that will take place in the movie.
The film is scheduled to hit theaters on May 16th.
