Sylvester Stallone's action film claims the throne on its debut weekend, while other newcomers 'ParaNorman' and 'Sparkle' debut at No. 3 and 5 respectively.
- Aug 20, 2012
AceShowbiz - "The Expendables 2" fights its way to the top spot of North American box office. The star-studded action movie takes over the champion title from "The Bourne Legacy" after collecting $28.6 million on its first weekend.
The opening gross for "The Expendables" sequel, however, is 17|percent| lower than its predecessor which debuted to $34.8 million in August 2010. Still, Lionsgate executive vice president of distribution David Spitz believes the latest Sylvester Stallone-starring movie will "have a great run." He reasons, "Older audiences don't rush out to the cinema on opening weekend."
Meanwhile, the fourth installment of the "Bourne" franchise is forced to drop to number two in its second week. Introducing Jeremy Renner as the new lead actor, the Tony Gilroy-directed film adds $17 million to its domestic gross, dropping 55.4|percent| from last weekend.
"ParaNorman" kicks off its run in the third place with $14 million. Despite getting positive reviews, the movie performs below Focus Features' successful animated feature "Coraline" which raked in $16.8 million in February 2009.
"We have a good number of weeks in front of us before the 3D re-release of Finding Nemo on September 14," says Focus president of distribution Jack Foley of his hope for "ParaNorman". "We also have the Labor Day holiday."
At No. 4, there's "The Campaign" which loses two spots from last week. The comedy movie starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis pulls in $13.1 million, bringing its current total domestic cume to $51.4 million.
Another newcomer "Sparkle" debuts at No. 5. The movie which marks Whitney Houston's final performance pulls in approximately $11.6 million. Also making its debut on the chart this week, "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" performs below "Sparkle" at No. 7 with an estimated $10.8 million.
Top Ten Movies at Box Office for August 17 - 19:
