(Reuters)

The blood-soaked ancient epic 300 slaughtered its foes at the weekend box office in North America, setting a new record for a March release by selling about US$70 million worth of tickets, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday.

The grim warrior tale stars Scottish actor Gerard Butler as Leonidas, king of the Spartans, who leads 300 of his warriors to glorious death at the Battle of Thermopylae against a massive Persian army commanded by the fey king Xerxes (Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro).

Noteworthy

Its achievement was all the more noteworthy given that the previous record-holder for the month, 2006's Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, with US$68 million, was a family-oriented cartoon, while 300 is an unabashedly gruesome spectacle with an 'R' rating that prevents viewers under 17 attending without adult supervision.

In fact, the opening for 300 ranks as the third-highest for an R-rated movie, behind The Matrix Reloaded (US$91 million) and The Passion of the Christ (US$83 million), said Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.

The film, budgeted in the mid-US$60 million range, was directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead), and based on the graphic novel by comic book writer Frank Miller (Sin City).

It earned largely positive reviews, despite or because of its myriad decapitations and balletic battlefield carnage. The last few chart-toppers, incumbent champ Wild Hogs, Ghost Rider and Norbit, were slammed by the critics.

Box office listings

1 300$ 70.0 million

2 Wild Hogs$ 28.0 million

3 Bridge to Terabithia$ 6.9 million

4 Zodiac$ 6.8 million

4 Ghost Rider$ 6.8 million

6 The Number 23$ 4.3 million

6 Norbit$ 4.3 million

8 Music and Lyrics$ 3.8 million

9 Breach$ 2.6 million

10 Amazing Grace$ 2.5 million