The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.
New Line/Warner Bros. thriller The Rite debuted atop the domestic box office this weekend with an estimated $15 million from 2,985 theaters. Directed by Mikael Håfström and starring Anthony Hopkins, the film cost $37 million to make.
Last week’s champ, Paramount’s No Strings Attached, dropped a spot to second and 30.5% of its first weekend ticket sales to bring in $13.7 million. The $25 million romantic comedy, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, has earned $39.7 million after two weeks.
Newcomer The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, opened to $11.5 million from 2,703 theaters. Estimates say that it was tied by Columbia Pictures’ The Green Hornet, which added $11.5 million its third weekend for a total of $78.8 million domestically so far. The $120 million-budgeted adaptation also topped the international box office with $15.7 million and its foreign total has reached $61 million, for a worldwide sum of $139.8 million.
The Weinstein Company’s The King’s Speech rounded out the top five and increased its ticket sales by 41.3%, adding $11.1 million for a total of $72.2 million after 10 weeks. The Tom Hooper film, starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, was produced for only $15 million.
Paramount’s True Grit also saw a slight uptick of 3.7% from last weekend with $7.6 million in sixth place. The $38 million Coen brothers Western has collected a strong $148.4 million in six weeks.
Falling back four spots to seventh was Universal’s The Dilemma, which earned $5.5 million in its third weekend to push its total to $40.6 million. The comedy was made for $70 million.
The two other awards contenders, Black Swan and The Fighter, also saw minimal drops with the former taking in $5.1 million for a total of $90.7 million and the latter bringing in $4 million for a total of $78.4 million.
In limited release, Lionsgate’s From Prada to Nada opened in 256 theaters where it collected $1.1 million, an average of $4,297 per site, while Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem, expanded to 57 theaters and earned $461,000, an average of $8,088.
Click here for the full box office results of the top 12 films.
