Marlon Wayans (left) and Shawn Wayans. - CONTRIBUTED
REUTERS:
JOHNNY DEPP'S hit Pirates of the Caribbean sequel ruled the waves at the North American box office for a second weekend, while two new comedies were in a tight race for the distant number two slot.
According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, Walt Disney Co.'s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Curse earned US$62.2 million during the three-day period beginning July 14. Its 10-day total stands at US$258.2 million, making it the biggest movie of the year so far.
Disney officials declined to predict the film's eventual total, but observers expect a possible third weekend at number one as it nears US$300 million. Some targets include US$340 million, the studio record set by Finding Nemo, and US$380 million, the sum earned by last year's biggest movie, Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith.
NUMBER 2
The Wayans brothers lowbrow comedy Little Man claimed second spot with about US$21.7 million, just ahead of fellow rookie You, Me and Dupree with US$21.3 million. Rankings could change when final data are released on Monday, although the estimates did not provoke any dispute between the films' respective distributors.
Little Man stars Marlon Wayans as a jewel thief whose face is grafted on to the two-foot body of a child actor. It was directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, and also stars Shawn Wayans. The movie, which cost about US$64 million to make, exceeded the expectations of its distributor, Columbia Pictures. The Sony Corporations owned studio had hoped for an opening in the high-teens, on par with the US$19 million opening of the siblings' previous effort, White Chicks.
You, Me and Dupree, a US$54 million film starring Owen Wilson in a familiar slacker role, this time as the houseguest from hell, turned in a "solid showing", according to Nikki Rocco, president of distribution at Universal Pictures.
TOP FIVE
Rounding out the top-five were Warner Bros.' Superman Returns with US$11.6 million, and 20th Century Fox's The Devil Wears Prada with US$10.4 million, both down two places in their third weekends. Their respective totals stand at US$183.6 million and US$83.6 million.
The top 10 contained one other new entrant, the limited-release sci-fi saga A Scanner Darkly, which rose nine places to claim the final spot with US$1.2 million. The Warner Independent Pictures release, featuring animated likenesses of Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr., has earned US$1.8 million after two weeks. It was playing in just 216 theatres, while most of the top movies were in more than 3,000 theatres each.
