The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media conquered the weekend box office with a respectable $56.5 million opening. While it managed to boot Paramount’s Iron Man from the top spot, the second big-screen adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ literary saga fell shy of matching its predecessor. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opened to $65.5 million domestically in December of 2005, on its way to a whopping $744 million worldwide.
Featuring visual effects by Weta Digital, The Moving Picture Company, Framestore CFC, Rising Sun Pictures, ScanlineVFX and CIS London, Prince Caspian is sure to be a box-office smash around the world as well. Domestically, the pic debuted in a tough spot. Wedged between Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the sequel will have to rely mainly on foreign ticket sales to drive its numbers up. The first film in the series did nearly twice as much business in foreign markets as it did in North America. The third film in the series, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is slated to hit theaters in the summer of 2010.
Iron Man managed to bite into Caspian‘s piece of the pie by raking in an estimated $31.2 million in its third week. In a short time, the Marvel superhero movie has earned around $222.4 million domestically and $207 abroad for a worldwide total of approximately $429.4 million. The first big summer release set the bar high for all other movies with blockbuster potential. We’ll see how the fourth Indiana Jones adventure stacks up when it swings into theaters this Friday. Fans are getting energized as more positive reviews stream in from screenings over the weekend.
What Happens in Vegas from 20th Century Fox hasn’t exactly hit the jackpot since opening last week, but it has recouped its reported $35 million in production expenses. The comedy took in another $13.8 million (est.) domestically for a two-week total of $40.3 million and a third-place finish ahead of Warner Bros.’ Speed Racer. Unless foreign business picks up, the $120 million movie is likely to be one of the biggest box-office letdowns of the summer. The Wachowski brothers’ live-action adaptation of the classic anime series has earned about $29.8 million stateside and approximately $12.5 million worldwide since opening last week. Universal’s Baby Mama fills out the top five with an estimated $4.5 million and a four-week cume of about $47.2 million.
