The movie critics hated it, but the viewers loved it. This
is, in brief, the box office story of Roland Ememrich’s latest movie “10,000
B.C”. After a perfect opening on Friday, when it earned $12.5 million in ticket
sales, “10,000 B.C”, the movie in which wooly mammoths roam through the lands
of ancient gods, gained the first spot at this weekend box office, with $35.7
million from 3,410 theaters.
According to Warner Bros, “10,000 B.C.” sold worldwide $61
million worth of tickets, as the movie opened on the number one place in 19
from 20 territories.
“10,000 B.C.” tells the story of D’Leh (Steven Strait),
a young hunter who lives in a mythical age of prophesies and gods, when spirits
rule the land and mighty mammoths shake the earth.
When his loved one, Evolet (Camilla Belle) is kidnapped by a
band of mysterious warlords, he embarks on a journey to the end of the world to
save her. He leads a small group of hunters and as they venture into unknown lands
for the first time, the group discovers there are civilizations beyond their
own and that mankind’s reach is far greater than they ever knew.
At each encounter the group is joined by other tribes who
have been attacked by the slave raiders, turning D’Leh’s once-small band into
an army.
At their heroic journey’s end, they uncover a lost
civilization and learn their ultimate fate lies in an empire beyond
imagination, where great pyramids reach into the skies. According to Warner
Bros, $100 million were invested in the production of the movie.
However, “10,000 B.C” did not manage to break any record, given
that the blockbuster "300" opened with $71 million over that weekend
in 2007. The top-12 movies took in $91.8 million, down 34 percent from the same
weekend last year.
In the box office top, “10,000 B.C” was distantly followed
by Martin Lawrence’s “College Road Trip”, which earned $14 million.
Last weekend’s champion, Will Ferrell’s “Semi-Pro” is
heading right into financial disaster as it has slipped to the fourth spot with
$5.9 million, behind the action thriller “Vantage Point” which earned the third
place with $7.5 million.
“Semi-Pro”, a spoof comedy about basketball, which cost $57
million to make, has earned just $24.7 million after 10 days.
Another newcomer, “The Bank Job,” has opened on the fifth
spot with $5.7 million. “The Bank Job” is based on a true story of a bank
robbery which happened in 1971 in Baker
Street, London. The
movie casts Jason Statham as Terry, a husband and father of two young
daughters, which is enrolled by Martine Love (Saffron Burrows), a beautiful
model, to rob a bank. But while Terry believes this is common bank robbery,
Love is after some photos.
“The Spiderwick Chronicles”, a Paramount’s movie based on the children's fantasy
series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, earned the sixth place, with
$4,800,000.
With only $4 million in ticket sales, “The Other Boleyn
Girl” slipped to the seventh place from third in the opening weekend.
“The Other Boleyn Girl," is about Queen Anne Boleyn’s
sister, Mary, the "other" from the title, who was also one-time
mistress of King Henry VIII. Set during the reign of Henry VIII (Eric Bana), a
defining moment in England’s
history, two sisters Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson)
Boleyn have to win the affection of the King due to the ambitions of their
father and uncle, played by Mark Rylance and David Morrissey.
The SciFi thriller “Jumper” earned an additional $3,7
million and ranked as number eight while
The Top 10 was rounded by “Step Up 2 the Streets” with $3,049,000 and Fool's
Gold with $2,800,000.
“Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day”, the romantic comedy starring
Frances McDormand as Guinevere Pettigrew, a middle-aged governess in 1939
London, who after is fired from her job becomes the “social secretary” of the
American singer Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams) has opened really good by earning
$2,541,000 from 535 theaters. The movie was very well received by the critics.
