娱乐英语新闻:Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" tops box office in N America

 LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- "Gran Torino" rocketed to the top of box office in North America after the action thriller starring and directed by Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood opened in wide release this weekend, showed preliminary figures released Sunday.

 

Actor and film director Clint Eastwood, a former Kennedy Center Honoree, poses for photographers with his wife Dina Ruiz as they arrive for the 2008 Honors gala dinner at the US State Department in Washington Dec. 6, 2008.

    The movie, released by Warner Bros., took in an estimated 29 million U.S. dollars in ticket sales over the three-day period to dash across the finish line ahead of 20th Century Fox's wedding comedy "Bride Wars," according to Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.

    "Gran Torino," about an unhappy Korea War veteran coming to theaid of his neighbors, earlier has opened in limited release to qualify for Academy Award consideration. Its total box office now stands at 40 million dollars over five weeks.

    "Bride Wars" starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson opened with 21.5 million dollar at a solid second place, followed by Universal's horror film "The Unborn" with 21.1 million dollars in its debut.

Alison Eastwood, daughter of director Clint Eastwood, arrives at the world premiere of her father's new film "Gran Torino" on the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California December 9, 2008

    Last week's box office leader "Marley And Me" slipped to the fourth place with 11.4 million dollars over the weekend, while "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was in fifth with 9.4 million dollars. The two films have grossed 123.7 million and 94.3 million dollars respectively since they opened on Christmas Day.