There’s a new No. 1 movie in the country as Hellboy II: The Golden Army, sequel to 2004’s Hellboy, earned $35.9 million to edge out the Will Smith vehicle Hancock. Buoyed surprisingly good reviews from mainstream critics (the film currently has an 88% freshness rating at RottenTomatoes.com), Hellboy II becomes the third comic-book based film of the summer to debut at the top of the box office.
I expect its reign to be short-lived, however, as The Dark Knight opens next weekend and is poised to break the $100 million mark based on massive ticket pre-sales and buzz.
Hancock dropped off to No. 2 with a weekend haul of $33 million. This film likely won’t have the staying power of some of Smith’s other hits, as negative word-of-mouth and upcoming competition from Batman and the Joker will impact Hancock’s bottom line.
Two other new releases cracked the top 10 this weekend: Journey to the Center of the Earth, a 3D rendition of Jules Verne’s classic tale, drummed up $20.6 million in ticket sales for third place, while the Eddie Murphy comedy Meet Dave earned a disappointing $5.3 million to finish in seventh.
Here’s the complete Top 10 at the box office for the weekend ending 7/13/08:
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army, $35.9 million
- Hancock, $33 million
- Journey to the Center of the Earth, $20.6 million
- WALL-E, $18.5 million
- Wanted, $11.6 million
- Get Smart, $7.11 million
- Meet Dave, $5.3 million
- Kung Fu Panda, $4.3 million
- Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, $2.36 million
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $2.25 million