Real Steel Tops US Weekend B-O

OCT 10, 2011 - Real Steel fought its way to the top of the North American box office this weekend, though its debut didn't quite reach heavyweight levels. The Ides of March was the runner-up with a standard George Clooney opening, while Dolphin Tale and Moneyball continued to hold well in their third frames.

Real Steel scored an estimated US$27.3 million, which tops Rocky IV's US$20 million for highest boxing debut ever (though it obviously lags in estimated attendance). It was also the second highest-grossing opening for a sports drama behind The Blind Side's US$34.1 million.

50/50 had the best hold among last weekend's newcomers. It declined 36 percent to an estimated US$5.5 million, and the movie has now earned $17.3 million. With the Blu-ray version finally in stores, The Lion King 3D plummeted 57 percent to US$4.55 million.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for Oct 7-9, 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. (-) Real Steel (Buena Vista) $27.3 million ($27.3 million) 1

2. (-) The Ides of March (Sony/Columbia) $10.4 million ($10.4 million) 1

3. (1) Dolphin Tale (Warner Bros.) $9.2 million ($49.1 million) 3

4. (2) Moneyball (Sony/Columbia) $7.5 million ($49.3 million) 3

5. (4) 50/50 (Summit) $5.5 million ($17.3 million) 2