'Super 8' Leads US Weekend B-O

JUNE 13, 2011 - After months of hype, Super 8, the trumped-up J.J. Abrams-Steven Spielberg production was rather uneventful. It collected an estimated US$37 million on approximately 5,500 screens at 3,379 locations, after making an additional US$1 million with its Thursday Twitter sneaks. While that was two thirds of The Karate Kid's US$55.7 million on the same weekend last year and less than Cloverfield's US$40.1 million, it was close to District 9's US$37.4 million.

Super 8's marketing was conducted as if the movie were an intended blockbuster: the campaign was massive, ranging from a Super Bowl spot through a raft of TV ads as well as promotions on American Idol and the MTV Movie Awards. US$37 million is not a blockbuster opening for this type of movie in this day and age. Super 8's attendance wasn't even much higher than E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial's on the same weekend back in 1982, and Super 8 had over three times the locations.

The rest of the US box-office weekend Top 5 are the usual suspects - from last week's list.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for June 10-12, 2011 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)

1. (-) Super 8 (Paramount) $37.0 million $38.0 million) 1

2. (1) X-Men: First Class (Fox) $25.0 million ($98.9 million) 2

3. (2) Hangover Part II (WB) $18.5 million ($216.6 million) 3

4. (3) Kung Fu Panda 2 (Paramount) $16.6 million ($126.9 million) 3

5. (4) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (BV) $10.8 million ($208.8 mil) 4