The movie adaptation of the critically-acclaimed noir video
game franchise “Max Payne” blew away the box office over the weekend, with $18
million worth of ticket sales, according to estimates.
The film, which is rated PG-13, and which puts Mark Wahlberg
in the shoes of police detective Max Payne, out for revenge on those who
murdered his family, is the first movie to launch at No.1 in seven months for
20th Century Fox. Consistent with the video game demographic 65% of
the audience were young males while 35% where females, say exit polls conducted
by the studio.
The amount grossed by the film is similar to other recent videogame-based
movies’ release earnings, such as the Resident
Evil films, each of which made in excess of $23 million in their premieres.
Max Payne does, however, fare better than previous action movies starring
Wahlberg, such as crime drama We Own the Night ($10.8 mil) and 2007’s Shooter ($14.5 mil).
Max Payne has dethroned box office champion Beverly
Hills Chihuahua,
which after reigning for three weeks, has fallen to second place with $11.3
million. Chihuahua’s
total earnings reach $70 million.
The Secret Life of
Bees, also released this weekend stands at No.3, with a decent $11.1
million. It is an adaptation of the novel with the same name by Sue Monk Kidd.
Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo
star in this movie about adolescent girl Lily Owens, who runs away from her
troubled home to live with three eccentric beekeeping sisters.
Surprisingly enough, W,
a biographical film about the life and presidency of George W. Bush, is not far
behind, with $10.6 million securing a firm fourth place. The movie, directed by
Oliver Stone and staring Josh Brolin as President Bush, did surprisingly well
for a movie about the fellow many Americans blame for the poor economic state
of the country. A studio exit poll indicated 55% of the audience considered
themselves liberals, 31% were moderates, and only %14 of the audience called
themselves conservative. Reviews of the movie were mixed, and a Metacritic
score averaging 31 reviews gives the film a rating of 58 out of 100.
In the fifth spot, and still going strong after a month of
showing, is Eagle Eye, which added $7.3
more million to its total gross of more than $80 million. The thriller puts Shia
LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan in the role of two regular people being tricked
by a rogue artificial intelligence.
This weekend’s final new movie, the college story Sex
Drive, earned a meager $3.6 million and landed
way back at No. 9.
