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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Dragon's Lair

CGI animated 3-D flick How To Train Your Dragon slays Alice 3-week hold as the top film in the US...



Gregg Kilday of THR

3D's rising star got another boost at the North American boxoffice this weekend as Paramount's release of DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" flew to the top spot, and Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" held on to enough screens to emerge a solid number two.

Co-existing on the available 3D screens, "Dragon" bowed to an estimated $43.3 million, while "Alice," in its fourth weekend, lost 50% of its audience as it took in another $17.3 million.

MGM's "Hot Tub Time Machine," which relied on R-rated comedy instead of flashy effects, debuted more modestly as it collected $13.7 million.

Close behind was the second weekend of Sony's battling rom-com "The Bounty Hunter." The Jennifer Aniston-Gerard Butler teaming fell by just 40% as it brought in $12.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $38.8 million.

In fifth place, Fox's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," also in its second weekend, declining by 55%, brought home $10 million as its cume rose to $35.8 million.

The "Dragon" launch provided further evidence of the appeal of 3D. The movie bowed in 4,055 locations, but ticket sales from its 2,178 3D theaters, a number that raised prices this weekend, accounted for 68% of the movie's weekend gross. Imax alone -- "Dragon" is playing in 185 Imax theaters -- contributed 11.5% of the gross, up from the 10.5% of gross that Imax theaters contributed to "Alice's" opening weekend. "That shows we're accumulating more fans as we go along with who chose Imax as a venue," said Greg Foster, president of filmed entertainment at Imax, which will be hosting "Dragon" for six weeks until "Iron Man 2" comes along.

"Dragon" didn't explode out of the gate like DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens," which bowed to $59.3 million last March. But with a Cinemascore of A, and 97% positive reviews on the RottenTomatoes Web site, it should play well over the spring holidays.

Its opening weekend audience bridged the age gap: 49% of moviegoers were under 25, and 51% older. And it skewed slightly more female by 55%....

Read Full Story...

EW has the complete weekend top 10 chart...And Nicole Sperling's analysis

Coming On Wednesday Miley Cyrus hears The Last Song and then falls in love with Liam Hemsworth: On Friday Sam Worthington takes sides in the mythological Clash of the Titans remake; Tyler Perry asks Why Did I Get Married Too?

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