March 12, 2007	Monday	Safar 22, 1428

WASHINGTON: The Sparta war epic “300,” the story of the 300 Spartan soldiers who fought off the Persians in the legendary Battle of Thermopylae, conquered the North American box office over the weekend with $70 million in ticket sales, preliminary figures showed on Sunday.

Coming in second was aging-suburbanite-biker flick “Wild Hogs” starring John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. The film drew some $28 million.

Youth fantasy film “Bridge to Terabithia” about two friends who discover a magical kingdom where they reign as king and queen came in third with $6.9 million.

“Ghost Rider,” with Nicolas Cage as flaming vigilante biker Johnny Blaze, fell to fourth place with some $6.8 million that pushed its total take since release last month to $104 million.

“Zodiac,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo in a thriller about the serial killer who terrorized San Francisco during the 1970s, raked in some $6.8 million to land in fifth place.--AFP