showbiz
‘Deadpool’ eclipses ‘Gods of Egypt’ at the box office
‘Deadpool’ starring Ryan Reynolds as a Marvel Comics character, took in an estimated US$31.5 million at the box office. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, February 29, 2016.Superhero blockbuster "Deadpool" dominated the North American box office over Oscar weekend, beating out the fantasy epic "Gods of Egypt" which staged a disappointing second-place debut, industry estimates showed yesterday.
Starring Ryan Reynolds as a Marvel Comics character, "Deadpool" took in an estimated US$31.5 million (RM132 million), industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said. That gives the film a projected total of US$286 million after it clocked the fastest rise of any R-rated movie in history following its debut three weeks ago.
"Gods of Egypt" – which had a production budget of US$140 million in hopes it would launch a new franchise for Lionsgate – may be the year's first flop instead. Starring Gerard Butler as the god of darkness who plunges the Egyptian empire into chaos, the film took in an estimated US$14 million over the weekend.
Trailing in third place was "Kung Fu Panda 3" – Dreamworks' computer-animated comedy that follows the adventures of Po as he evolves from martial arts student to teacher – which took in an estimated US$9 million.
Sony's Biblical resurrection tale "Risen" came in fourth place with US$7 million during its second weekend. Directed by Kevin Reynolds, the film stars Joseph Fiennes, who plays a Roman army officer investigating the mysterious disappearance of Jesus's body.
Fox's "Eddie the Eagle" also debuted this weekend, landing in fifth with earnings of US$6.3 million. The sports comedy starring Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton follows the story of British ski jumper Michael "Eddie" Edwards, who emerged as a folk hero after finishing last at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were:
– Triple Nine US$6.1 million
– How to Be Single US$5.2 million
– The Witch US$5 million
– Race US$4.3 million
– The Revenant US$3.8 million – AFP, February 29, 2016.
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