"The Day The Earth Stood Still," a remake of the 1951 sci-fi film, opened
as number one at the box office in North America this weekend, with some US$31
million in ticket sales, including strong performances at the big-screen Imax
3-D theaters.
About US$3.8 million of tickets were sold over the three-day period for Imax
theaters, a "great" opening for a sci-fi remade based on the industry standard,
said the Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers Sunday.
Meanwhile, the special effects-filled film, starring Keanu Reeves as an alien
who comes to Earth trying to save the planet from the dying humans, grossed
about US$39.5 million overseas this weekend, bringing its worldwide take to over
US$70 million.
Warner Bros.' holiday comedy "Four Christmases" proved to be the gift that
keeps on giving in this pre-holiday season. The box office leader for the past
two weeks was in second place this weekend with an estimated take of US$13.3
million.
The remaining top five films included Summit Entertainment's vampire romance
"Twilight" with US$8 million Disney cartoon "Bolt" with US$7.5 million and Fox's
historical drama "Australia" with US$4.3 million.
The 12 top-selling movies took in US$83.3 million in the United States and
Canada this weekend, down 45 percent from the same period last year.
