Teaming up martial arts masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li was the best idea yet. Their movie The Forbidden Kingdom debuted in the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with $20.9 million in ticket sales.
The tale of a modern American teen hurtled back in time to a kung fu adventure in ancient China features Chan and Li in their first big-screen duel. “I couldn’t believe it had never been done before,” Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Co. released The Forbidden Kingdom along with partner Lionsgate, told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, the Judd Apatow-produced romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, starring Jason Segel as a nice guy who’s dumped by his glamorous girlfriend (Kristen Bell), opened in second place with $17.3 million.
Al Pacino‘s serial killer thriller 88 Minutes premiered in fourth place with $6.8 million, while Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a rare documentary opening in wide release, debuted in ninth with $3.1 million. Released by Rocky Mountain Pictures, the film features Ben Stein as he challenges Darwinian theories that prevail in academic circles and suggests that life could have emerged through intelligent design.
The top 12 movies took in $82 million, up 12.38 percent from the same weekend last year and up 1.57 percent from last weekend’s draw.
The top three openers the same weekend last year were: Disturbia, which stayed at No. 1 with $13 million; Fracture, which opened in second place with $11 million; and Blades of Glory, which dropped to third place in its fourth week with $7.6 million.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES (Source by: Media by Numbers)
No. 1: The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate, PG-13)
• Gross: $20.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,151
• Per-theater average: $6,623
No. 2: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal, R)
• Gross: $17.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,798
• Per-theater average: $6,200
No. 3: Prom Night (Sony/Screen Gems, PG-13)
• Gross: $9.1 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,700
• Per-theater average: $3,370
• Cume to date: $32.5 million
No. 4: 88 Minutes (Sony/Tri-Star, R)
• Gross: $6.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,168
• Per-theater average: $3,137
No. 5: Nim’s Island(Fox, PG)
• Gross: $5.6 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,277 (-241)
• Per-theater average: $1,724
• Cume to date: $32.8 million
No. 6: 21 (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.5 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,903 (+167)
• Per-theater average: $1,895
• Cume to date: $69.9 million
No. 7: Street Kings (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $4 million (-68%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,469
• Per-theater average: $1,620
• Cume to date: $19.8 million
No. 8: Horton Hears a Who (20th Century, G)
• Gross: $3.5 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,670 (-539)
• Per-theater average: $1,311
• Cume to date: $144.4 million
No. 9: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Rocky Mountain Picts, PG)
• Gross: $3.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,052
• Per-theater average: $2,997
No. 10: Leatherheads (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $3 million (-52%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,798 (+27)
• Per-theater average: $1,080
• Cume to date: $26.5 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (Weinstein Co., PG-13)
• Gross: $143,299
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 102
• Per-theater average: $1,405
