(NewsCore) – NEW YORK — “Captain America: The First Avenger” became the latest film adaptation based on a Marvel Entertainment comic book character to open at the top of the North American box office, grossing $65.8 million from 3,715 locations over the weekend, according to estimates from distributor Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc.
The opening is on par with the North American debuts for “Thor” and “X-Men: First Class,” two other comics-based films that were released earlier this summer and earned $65.7 million and $55.1 million, respectively.
Rated PG-13 and budgeted at $140 million, “Captain America” stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, who volunteers for an experimental program during World War II that turns him into the titular super-soldier. The character will also be featured in next summer’s “The Avengers,” which is to be distributed by Marvel parent Walt Disney Co.
“Captain America” is the final Marvel film to be distributed by Paramount, under a deal that ended early following Disney’s 2009 acquisition of Marvel.
Paramount’s executive vice president for distribution, Don Harris, said Sunday in an interview that the studio considered “Thor,” which was also released by the studio, to be a bigger commercial property than “Captain America” and was therefore pleased by the new movie’s comparable box office performance.
The film’s opening coincided with Comic-Con International’s annual comics and pop-culture convention in San Diego, where the film opened one day early on Thursday at one San Diego theater and featured various promotional events for the film.
The weekend’s other wide release, “Friends with Benefits,” grossed $18.5 million over the weekend. The film from Sony Corp.’s Screen Gems division stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis as friends who decide to make their relationship physical. The R-rated comedy pulled in roughly the same amount as “No Strings Attached,” a similarly themed film released earlier this year that brought in $19.7 million its opening weekend.
Last week’s No. 1 film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Part 2,” saw a 72 percent drop in ticket sales compared with its record-setting opening last weekend, when die-hard fans had rushed out to see it. The film from Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. Pictures grossed $48.1 million from Friday to Sunday, bringing its domestic cumulative gross to $274.2 million.
Tags: Box Office, Captain America, Office
Posted July 23, 2011 by Charlie Esson under Celebrity News