Superheroes top box office

It was a good weekend for Hellboy, as the film Hellboy II: The Golden Army topped the weekend box office, taking in $35.9 million.

Last week's No. 1, Will Smith's Hancock, dropped to No. 2, but still grossed $33.3 million over the weekend. Ticket sales fell less than 50 percent, helping the poorly-reviewed film remain near the top, according to estimates by Exhibitor Relations.

In third place was Brendan Fraser with the film Journey to the Center of the Earth, a 3-D remake of the original. It took in $20.6 million in ticket sales, knocking the animated hit flick WALL-E to fourth.

Meanwhile, Eddie Murphy's film Meet Dave came in a disappointing seventh, taking in only $5.3 million. It marks Murphy's lowest total for a debut since 2002's The Adventures of Pluto Nash.

Last month Murphy announced that Meet Dave would mark his movie retirement. He said he wished to return to the stage to do stand-up comedy.


The weekend box office top 10 (according to estimates by Exhibitor Relations):
1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, $35.9 million
2. Hancock, $33 million
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth, $20.6 million
4. WALL-E, $18.5 million
5. Wanted, $11.6 million
6. Get Smart, $7.1 million
7. Meet Dave, $5.3 million
8. Kung Fu Panda, $4.3 million
9. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, $2.4 million
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $2.3 million

Hancock tops holiday box office

Will Smith's "Hancock" topped the July 4 holiday weekend box office, becoming Smith's fifth movie to do so.

"Will Smith, Mom, apple pie and the Fourth of July. It doesn’t get any better," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "People just so relate to him and the characters that he plays. They totally embraced it as something different, something fresh."

"Hancock" also marks Smith's seventh straight movie to open at No. 1.

The poorly-reviewed superhero flick earned $66 million over the weekend, increasing its total in ticket sales to $107.3 million since its Tuesday evening opening.

Last weekend's No. 1, Disney-Pixar's "Wall-E," was bumped to the second spot this weekend, with $33.4 million in ticket sales. The family-friendly animated flick has made $128.1 million in its 10 days in theaters.

Overall, ticket sales were down for the first time in a month, as well as down four percent since Fourth of July of 2007.

But revenues for this summer are two percent ahead of last summer's record pace, when revenues topped $4 billion for the first time in history.


Weekend Top 10, courtesy of estimates from Exhibitor Relations:

1. Hancock, $66 million
2. WALL-E, $33.4 million
3. Wanted, $20.6 million
4. Get Smart, $11.1 million
5. Kung Fu Panda, $7.5 million
6. The Incredible Hulk, $5 million
7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $3.9 million
8. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, $3.6 million
9. Sex and the City, $2.3 million
10. You Don't Mess With the Zohan, $2 million