'Amazing Spider-Man' scales US box office
LOS ANGELES: “The Amazing Spider-Man” climbed to the top of the North American box office this weekend, beating cheeky teddy bear comedy “Ted,” industry figures showed.
The 3D flick starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone – the latest take on the iconic superhero – netted $62 million during its first Friday through Sunday run on the big screen, according to movie tracker Exhibitor Relations.
The movie started off as a smaller domestic moneymaker than the previous three Spidey films, but it laid to rest objections that it was too soon to relaunch the superhero franchise.
The new origin story for the Marvel Comics web-slinger comes just five years after ''Spider-Man 3,'' Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi's final movie in a series that shattered box-office records. ''This was never modeled or was never meant to be 'Spider-Man 4.' This was always a relaunch with a new cast and different stories to tell, and quite frankly, it succeeded beyond our imaginations,'' said Rory Bruer, Sony's head of distribution.
“Ted,” a comedy directed by “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane in which Mark Wahlberg's childhood toy comes to life, came in second place with $32.2 million in tickets sold.
“Brave,” Pixar's 3D fairytale about a Scottish princess trying to rescue her mother from an evil witch, prevailed in third place with $19.6 million.
Oliver Stone's drama “Savages” – based on a Don Winslow novel and featuring a fierce Salma Hayek as the head of a Mexican drug cartel – debuted in fourth place with just over $16 million.
“Magic Mike,” starring Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey as male strippers, dropped to fifth place with $15.6 million.
Tyler Perry's “Madea's Witness Protection” took the sixth slot with $10.2 million in sales, while animated hit sequel “Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted” dipped to seventh place at $7.5 million.
“Katy Perry: Part of Me” – which gives a glimpse into the pop star's life both on and off stage – started off in eighth place with $7.1 million.
Ninth went to “Moonrise Kingdom,” the latest from director Wes Anderson starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton. The indie coming-of-age film took in $4.5 million.
Rounding out the top 10 was Woody Allen's comedy “To Rome With Love,” which earned $3.1 million.