The latest video game to make the leap to the big screen, Max Payne proved a hit with moviegoers over the weekend. Twentieth Century Fox’s adaptation of the Rockstar Games title earned an estimated $18 million domestically to take a commanding lead at the North American box office. The Mark Wahlberg vehicle lured audiences with the promise of action and supernatural intrigue brought to the screen with help from vfx studios SPIN FX and Mr. X.
Disney’s Beverly Hill Chihuahua, which managed to hold onto the top spot for two weeks, dropped a notch in its third week. The talking-dog movie has earned roughly $70 million to date and seems to be in a battle for second place with newcomer The Secret Life of Bees from Fox Searchlight. Both films earned around $11 million over the weekend.
The most high-profile release of the frame, Oliver Stone’s W., opened to an estimated $10.5 million. The controversial portrayal of the rise and fall of sitting president George W. Bush was rushed to theaters in time for the election, but audiences apparently saw no need to race to theaters and see it. Lionsgate gave the pic a fairly conservative rollout in just over 2,000 theaters across the country, but it may open wider if ticket sales pick up as the election draws nearer and the Bush presidency comes to an end.
Four weeks out of the gate, the Paramount/DreamWorks action thriller Eagle Eye has earned back its $80 million production budget. Rounding out the top five, the film picked up another $7.3 million (est.) over the weekend to bring its worldwide gross to approximately $96.7 million. Meanwhile, the newest teen sex comedy, appropriately titled Sex Drive, opened to roughly $3.5 million for a disappointing ninth-place finish.
