'Wolverine' a howling success at box office



LOS ANGELES- Hugh Jackman proved a howling success at the North American box office this weekend as superhero spin-off "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," opened in top spot, final figures showed Monday.
The film earned 85 million dollars on its debut, the second-best "X-Men" opening after "X2: X-Men United" made 102.1 million in 2003.



'Wolverine' a howling success at box office
Jackman, a 40-year-old Australian heartthrob named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine last year, has starred as the mutant superhero Wolverine in the three previous "X-Men" movies.
Romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, debuted in second place with 15.4 million dollars.
Superstar singer Beyonce's taut thriller "Obsessed" earned a cool 12 million dollars, for a total of 46.8 million dollars over two weeks.
The film also stars HBO's "Wire" gangster Idris Elba as a businessman whose life is turned upside down by the romantic advances of a new colleague.
Youthful fantasy "17 Again," starring US teen idol Zac Efron, fell from the second to fourth, raking in 6.4 million dollars for a 48.5-million-dollar total over three weeks.
"Monsters vs Aliens," an animated tale of a rag-tag group of monsters who save the world from destruction, came in fifth place, earning 5.8 million dollars to bring its total to 182.4 million over six weeks.
"The Soloist," an inspiring musical tale based on a true story, starring Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx, scored 5.6 million dollars in ticket sales on its second weekend.
Disney's "Earth" documentary, in seventh place, culls extraordinary nature footage from the BBC's landmark series "Planet Earth." It brought in 4.3 million dollars on its second weekend.
Miley Cyrus vehicle "Hannah Montana: The Movie," came in eighth. The film version of the popular Disney TV series took in 4.1 million dollars for a total of 70.9 million in four weeks.
"Fighting" pulled few punches to land in ninth, telling the story of small-town boy Channing Tatum trying to make it big in New York City.
The street fighting flick, featuring intense bare-knuckle scraps, took in four million dollars on its second weekend of showing.
Washington-based political thriller "State of Play" rounded out the top 10 with its A-list cast, raking in 3.7 million dollars on its third weekend.
Starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren, the thriller centers on reporters and police trying to solve the murder of a young lawmaker's mistress.
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Tuesday, May 5th 2009
AFP
           


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