Warner Bros.’ prehistoric action flick 10,000 B.C. debuted at No.1 in North America over the weekend with a better-than-expected gross of approximately $35.7 million. The popcorn flick easily clubbed its nearest competitor, the Disney comedy College Road Trip, which earned an estimated $14 million to land in second place.
Directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow) 10,000 B.C. drew crowds with the promise of big-budget special effects delivered by vfx supervisor Karen Goulekas and the crews as Motion Picture Company (MPC), The Senate VFX, Double Negative and Machine FX. CG animation was used extensively to bring wooly mammoths and other extinct creatures back to life for a story that takes a lot of liberties with the title period of time. Overseas box office should also be healthy and crucial to seeing the pic make good on its $100 million price tag.
Sony/Columbia’s political thriller Vantage Point was the third most-watched film of the weekend, adding about $7 million to bring its three-week total to approximately $51.6 million. Meanwhile, New Line’s Will Ferrell comedy Semi-Pro saw a 60% drop in attendance in its second week, earning around $5.9 million and dropping from No. 1 to No. 4. Newcomer The Bank Job from Lionsgate rounds out the top five with an estimated $5.7 million, a fairly impressive bow for a film released in just 1,600 theaters.
Opening in just 19 theaters in North America, Stephen Chow’s vfx-laden, family film CJ7 picked up $41,100. Cashing in on the popularity of Chow’s international hit Kung Fu Hustle, the Chinese film scored an impressive per-theater average of $2,163, which may inspire a wider release from Sony Pictures Classics. The film about a father and son who encounter an alien life form features visual effects created by Hong Kong vfx shop Menfond Electronic Art. Inspired by E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, the import will have some new competition in the family category this coming weekend as 20th Century Fox releases the eagerly awaited CG-animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!
