LOS ANGELES, Feb 10 — “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” cleaned up at the North American box office this weekend, dethroning “American Sniper” in its first week of release, data showed yesterday.
The animated 3-D movie, in which the title character attempts to recover a stolen burger recipe, debuted with US$55.4 million (RM197.102 million) in ticket sales, said box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
“American Sniper,” relegated to second place, had US$23.3 million in ticket sales as it finally fell from top spot.
Since its release, the highly acclaimed “Sniper” has raked in US$281.4 million and a half-dozen Oscar nominations, including a best actor nod for Bradley Cooper in the title role.
“Jupiter Ascending” sold the third most tickets this week, with a disappointing US$18.4 million in its opening weekend.
The fantasy flick pairs Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum and is a first foray into the genre for sibling directors Lana and Andy Wachowski since their work on “The Matrix” series.
“Seventh Son,” a 3-D fantasy-action film starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore, debuted in fourth spot, earning US$7.2 million.
Another science-fiction tale, “Project Almanac,” took fifth with US$5.23 million in ticket sales.
“Paddington,” a big-screen adaptation of the family classic about a bear lost in the big city, earned a whisker less for sixth place on US$5.22 million.
Comedy “The Wedding Ringer” took US$4.72 million for seventh place, followed by “The Imitation Game,” which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as codebreaking genius Alan Turing, on US$4.69 million for eighth spot.
“Black or White,” a racially charged drama starring Kevin Costner as a widowed grandfather battling to retain custody of his mixed-race granddaughter, was in ninth with US$4.5 million.
Jennifer Lopez’s steamy “The Boy Next Door,” in which the pop diva plays a divorcee who has an ill-advised affair with a very young male neighbor, came in 10th with US$4.1 million. — AFP
