In a relatively quiet weekend at the North American box office with no new wide releases, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King held the No. 1 slot for a third round with ticket sales of $US30.8 million, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.
Since its release, the film has earned $US677 million worldwide, including $US292 million from North America, where it is tracking 12% ahead of where its predecessor, The Two Towers was at the same time last year. That film ended up with $US341 million domestically and $US921 million worldwide.
The worldwide total for Return of the King is outpacing that of Two Towers by about 15%, said Rolf Mittweg, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Time Warner Inc's New Line Cinema.
The family comedy Cheaper by the Dozen , starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, remained at No. 2 with $US21.9 million, propelling its North American total to $US86 million after just two weekends.
The $US40 million film, a remake of a 1950 vehicle for Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, should end up near $US125 million, said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic theatrical distribution at 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp's Fox Entertainment Group Inc.
Jack's back
The old-age romance Something's Gotta Give , starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, rose one place in its fourth weekend to No. 3 with $US12.5 million. The film was released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp.
The weekend tally for Something's Gotta Give represents a tiny 10% dip from last weekend, one of the smallest in the top 10. By contrast, The Return of the Kings fell 39%, the steepest in the top 10, but still a good hold in the world of blockbusters, which start off big and then lose more than half of their audiences in subsequent weekends.
The Civil War drama Cold Mountain , starring Nicole Kidman and Jude Law, slipped one place to No. 4 with $US11.7 million in its second weekend. It was released by Miramax Films, a unit of Walt Disney Co.
The $US80 million film, based on the novel by Charles Frazier, picked up a leading eight Golden Globe nominations last month, instantly making it a key contender when Oscar nominations are announced on January 27.
The Ben Affleck sci-fi thriller Paycheck was unchanged at No. 5 with $US10 million. The $US60 million film was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.
The only new entry in the top 10 was the English comedy Calendar Girls , starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, in the fact-based tale of middle-aged women who stripped for charity. It jumped 16 places to No. 9 with $US4.6 million after expanding to 745 theatres in its third weekend. Most of the movies in the top 10 played in at least 2,200 theatres each. The film was released by Disney's Touchstone Pictures unit.
© Reuters
