the top ten movies in north america

FWIW, I had computer problems last week, so I never got around to sending 
the top ten list.  Sorry 'bout that.

- - -

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Following are ticket sales for the top 10 movies 
at the North American box office for the May 6-8 weekend, according to 
studio estimates issued Sunday. Final data will be issued Monday.

[***] 1 (+) Thor ............................ $66.0 million   66.0 million
[***] 2 (1) Fast Five ....................... $32.5 million  139.9 million
       3 (+) Jumping the Broom ............... $13.7 million   13.7 million
[***] 4 (+) Something Borrowed .............. $13.2 million   13.2 million
[***] 5 (2) Rio .............................. $8.2 million  114.9 million
[***] 6 (4) Water for Elephants .............. $5.6 million   41.6 million
       7 (3) Tyler Perry's Madea's Big ... .... $3.9 million   46.8 million
[***] 8 (5) Prom ............................. $2.4 million    7.8 million
[***] 9 (7) Soul Surfer ...................... $2.1 million   36.7 million
[***] 10(6) Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil .... $1.9 million    6.7 million

NOTE: Last weekend's position in parenthesis. + indicates a new release.
Figures are rounded.

- - -

FWIW, Fast Five opened to 86.2 million last weekend, which is easily the 
most that any film has made in a single weekend since Harry Potter and the 
Deathly Hallows Part I opened almost six months ago.

Also FWIW, Thor is easily the top-grossing film Kenneth Branagh has ever 
directed (previous champ: Dead Again, 1991, $38 million); and FWIW, of the 
films that Branagh has *acted* in (a list that does *not* include Thor), 
only three have done better in their lifetimes than Thor did in its first 
weekend (Valkyrie, 2008, $83.1 million; Wild Wild West, 1999, $113.8 
million; and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2002, $262 million).

- - -

http://moviecitynews.com/2011/05/weekend-estimates-by-asgard-klady/

By Klady estimate, Thor had the The Incredible Hulk opening with a 7% 3D 
bump... which is okay for a Thor... but still a soft opening of summer. 
More importantly, it's the worst Marvel summer starter by almost $20m or 
almost 25%... and it's the only one in 3D.

None of this should be a surprise, really. Second tier character (however 
great a character) without a known quantity on the lead or, really, the 
biggest supporting roles (Hopkins and Portman are more than cameos, but 
neither is likely to have more than 10 minutes of screen time). This 
number is really a good one, considering. Only a prayer of doing better 
than $65.8m.

[ snip ]

- - -

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/thor-hammers-competition-with-66m-opening-ap

LOS ANGELES - "Thor" kicked off the summer movie season by smashing the 
competition at the box office with a $66 million opening weekend.

The 3-D action picture from Paramount, based on the Marvel comic, was by 
far the No. 1 movie, according to Sunday studio estimates.

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth stars as the arrogant god of thunder 
who's sent down to Earth as punishment. It was directed by Kenneth 
Branagh, best known for making films based on Shakespeare plays such an 
epic "Hamlet," and featured a supporting cast that included Anthony 
Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgard.

In second place was a holdover from last week, the car-racing sequel "Fast 
Five" from Universal Pictures. It made $32.5 million for a total of nearly 
$140 million in just 10 days.

Although the opening for "Thor" wasn't as enormous as those of other 
superhero movies, it still exceeded studio expectations, which were around 
$55 million. It was the third-highest opening for a Marvel franchise 
launch, behind "Spider-Man," which made $115 million in 2002, and "Iron 
Man," which made $98.6 million in 2008.

Don Harris, Paramount's executive vice president for distribution, thought 
the film held appeal for both men and women; 37 percent of the audience 
was female.

"Chris Hemsworth looks like he's going to be a movie star," Harris said. 
"Kenneth Branagh made a very smart movie, and the idea that the man who's 
most closely identified with Shakespeare is making a Marvel superhero 
movie, I always thought was pretty interesting. Audiences connected with 
the Natalie Portman relationship, between her character and Thor. The 
movie looks spectacular on the screen. It was fun, and it's a big, epic 
movie."

Hollywood.com box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian thought "Thor" had a 
pretty respectable opening given that it's a lesser-known comic book 
title.

"Expectations always get wildly overblown with superhero movies -- a 
superhero movie has the biggest opening weekend of all time: `The Dark 
Knight,'" Dergarabedian said of the hit in the Batman franchise. 
"Expectations are always extremely high, especially on the first weekend 
in May, which is traditionally a huge weekend."

"It may have a solid hold," he added. "Sometimes it's not just about 
opening weekend. Sometimes it's about playability."

The next big competition for "Thor" comes in two weeks, on May 20, with 
the opening of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fourth 
film in the blockbuster Disney franchise. On Memorial Day weekend come the 
sequels "The Hangover Part II" from Warner Bros. and "Kung Fu Panda 2" 
from Paramount.

Opening in a close third and fourth place were two wedding-themed movies, 
both of which served as counter-programming to the effects-laden 
spectacles in theaters.

"Jumping the Broom" from TriStar Pictures came in third with $13.7 
million, higher than studio expectations, which were around $10 million. 
Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine star as the mothers of two families that 
clash as they're about to be united in their children's marriage.

In fourth place was the Warner Bros. romantic drama "Something Borrowed," 
based on the Emily Giffin best-seller, which made about $13.2 million. 
Ginnifer Goodwin stars as a lawyer who realizes she's in love with the 
fianc of her best friend, played by Kate Hudson.

In limited release, Summit Entertainment's "The Beaver," starring Mel 
Gibson as a depressed man who communicates through a beaver hand puppet, 
made $104,000 at 22 theaters. Directed by and co-starring Jodie Foster, 
the dramedy marks Gibson's first major role since a series of off-screen 
rants and scandals tarnished his reputation. It expands nationwide May 20.

- - -

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.reuters.com/thor-opens-66-million-north-america-reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The God of Thunder reigned at the North American 
box office as "Thor" became the latest Marvel comic book superhero to leap 
to the big screen.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Thor" sold about $66 
million worth of tickets during its first three days of release across the 
United States and Canada.

The opening was in line with industry forecasts in the $60 million to $70 
million range, and marked a strong start for a nonsequel and for the 
lucrative summer moviegoing period.

But it fell far short of openings by the first installments of other 
movies in the Marvel stable, such as 2002's "Spider-Man" ($115 million) 
and 2008's "Iron Man" ($99 million). Somewhat ominously, it barely 
exceeded the $62 million start for "Hulk" in 2003, the first of two failed 
attempts to turn the angry green man into a movie franchise.

International sales data for "Thor" were not immediately available. The 
film was No. 1 overseas last weekend with cumulative sales of $93 million.

"Thor" was produced for $150 million by Walt Disney Co's Marvel Studios 
and distributed by Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures. Starring Chris 
Hemsworth in the title role, it was directed by British actor and 
filmmaker Kenneth Branagh, best known for his deft handling of 
Shakespearean material.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Vicki Allen)

- - -

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2011&p=.htm

The Domestic Top 10 of 2011 (as of May 8, 2011)

[***] 1  (7) Fast Five (PG-13)                              $139.9 million
[***] 2  (1) Rango (PG)                                     $120.4 million
[***] 3  (3) Rio (G)                                        $114.9 million
[***] 4  (2) Hop (PG)                                       $106.4 million
[***] 5  (4) Just Go with It (PG-13)                        $102.9 million
[***] 6  (6) Gnomeo and Juliet (G)                           $98.8 million
[***] 7  (5) The Green Hornet (PG-13)                        $98.8 million
[***] 8  (8) Battle: Los Angeles (PG-13)                     $83.0 million
[***] 9  (9) Limitless (PG-13)                               $77.0 million
       10(10) Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (G)              $73.0 million

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2011&p=.htm

The Worldwide Top 10 of 2011 (as of May 8, 2011)

[***] 1  Rio (G)                             114.9 + 292.3 = 407.2 million
[***] 2  Fast Five (PG-13)                   139.9 + 184.8 = 324.7 million
[***] 3  Thor (PG-13)                         66.0 + 176.0 = 242.0 million
[***] 4  Rango (PG)                          120.4 + 118.5 = 239.0 million
[***] 5  The Green Hornet (PG-13)             98.8 + 129.5 = 228.3 million
[***] 6  Just Go with It (PG-13)             102.9 + 109.8 = 212.7 million
[***] 7  Battle: Los Angeles (PG-13)          83.0 + 118.1 = 201.1 million
[***] 8  Gnomeo and Juliet (G)                98.8 +  78.0 = 176.8 million
[***] 9  Hop (PG)                            106.4 +  61.9 = 168.3 million
[***] 10 No Strings Attached (R)              70.7 +  75.0 = 145.7 million

- - -

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic/

The Domestic Top 10 of All Time (as of May 8, 2011)

[*2*] 1  Avatar (2009)                                      $760.5 million
[*2*] 2  Titanic (1997)                                     $600.8 million
[***] 3  The Dark Knight (2008)                             $533.3 million
[*7*] 4  Star Wars (1977)                                   $461.0 million
[***] 5  Shrek 2 (2004)                                     $441.2 million
[*4*] 6  E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)                  $435.1 million
[*3*] 7  Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)   $431.1 million
[***] 8  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)  $423.3 million
[***] 9  Toy Story 3 (2010)                                 $415.0 million
[*2*] 10 Spider-Man (2002)                                  $403.7 million

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/

The Worldwide Top 10 of All Time (as of May 8, 2011)

[*2*] 1  Avatar (2009)                     760.5 + 2021.8 = 2782.3 million
[*2*] 2  Titanic (1997)                    600.8 + 1242.4 = 1843.2 million
[*4*] 3  The Lord of the Rings: ... (2003) 377.0 +  742.1 = 1119.1 million
[***] 4  Pirates of the ... Chest (2006)   423.3 +  642.9 = 1066.2 million
[***] 5  Toy Story 3 (2010)                415.0 +  648.2 = 1063.2 million
[***] 6  Alice in Wonderland (2010)        334.2 +  690.1 = 1024.3 million
[***] 7  The Dark Knight (2008)            533.3 +  468.6 = 1001.9 million
[*2*] 8  Harry Potter and the ... (2001)   317.6 +  657.2 =  974.7 million
[***] 9  Pirates of the ... End (2007)     309.4 +  651.6 =  961.0 million
[***] 10 Harry Potter and the ... (2010)   295.0 +  659.5 =  954.5 million

--- Peter T. Chattaway ------------- http://filmchatblog.blogspot.com/ ---
Nothing tells memories from ordinary moments; only afterwards do they
    claim remembrance, on account of their scars. -- Chris Marker, La Jetee

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