V, played by Hugo Weaving, covers Every (Natalie Portman) with his cape in a scene from the movie 'V for Vendetta'. - CONTRIBUTED
LOS ANGELES (Reuters):
THE FUTURISTIC terrorist thriller V For Vendetta blew up its rivals at the weekend box office in North America, according to studio estimates released yesterday.
The film, based on a comic book about a masked man who destroys landmark buildings in a fascist England, sold US$26.1 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada in the three days beginning March 17.
The film's distributor, Time Warner Inc.-owned Warner Bros. Pictures, said the opening was broadly in line with expectations. Hugo Weaving stars as the masked man, V, and Natalie Portman as his sidekick.
It was produced by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the brothers who directed the Matrix movies, in which Weaving co-starred.
NUMBER TWO
Last weekend's champion, Failure to Launch, a romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker, slipped to number two with US$15.8 million, taking the 10-day haul for the Paramount Pictures release to US$48.5 million.
It was followed by the Tim Allen comedy The Shaggy Dog, with US$13.6 million, also down one in its second weekend; the total for the Walt Disney Co. remake rose to US$35.9 million.
NEW ENTRY
The top 10 contained one other new entry, Paramount's teen comedy She's the Man, which opened at number four with US$11 million, in line with the studio's expectations. Amanda Bynes stars as a schoolgirl who poses as her twin brother to play on the boys' soccer team.
The cannibal thriller The Hills Have Eyes fell two places to number five with US$8.1 million, taking its 10-day total to US$28.8 million. The film was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, a unit of News Corp.
The art-house division also opened the acclaimed satire Thank You For Smoking in limited release. It earned an impressive US$260,000 from five theatres in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. It will add cities over the next two weeks before opening nationally on April 7.
Top Ten list
1 V For Vendetta US$26.1m
2 Failure to Launch US$15.8m
3 The Shaggy Dog US$13.6m
4 She's The Man US$11.0m
5 The Hills Have Eyes US$ 8.1m
6 16 Blocks US$ 4.7m
7 Eight Below US$ 4.2m
8 Madea's Family Reunion US$ 3.0m
9 The Pink Panther US$ 2.5m
10 Aquamarine US$ 2.0m
