娱乐英语新闻:"Witch Mountain" tops weekend box office in North America

LOS ANGELES, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Disney's sci-fi adventure film "Race to Witch Mountain" opened as No. 1 in the North American box office race this weekend, with an estimated 25 million dollars in ticket sales, according to preliminary figures released on Sunday.

Cast member Dwayne Johnson (C) poses with co-stars AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig (R) at the party following the premiere of the movie "Race to Witch Mountain" in Hollywood, California March 11, 2009

The film starring Dwayne Johnson as a Las Vegas taxi driver, who helps two alien teenagers in their escape from the chase by U.S. government agencies and their extraterrestrial rivals, is a re-imagination of a 1970s Disney family film, "Escape to Witch Mountain."

    But the movie's opening weekend gross take pales in comparison to similar releases, according to Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers. "Horton Hears A Who," an animated family film by 20th Century Fox, opened to 45 million dollars.

Cast members (from L-R) Alexander Ludwig, Carla Gugino, Dwayne Johnson and AnnaSophia Robb pose at the premiere of the movie "Race to Witch Mountain" at El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, California March 11, 2009

The Hollywood business analysis firm reported that ticket sales this weekend dropped 17 percent from that in the same weekend last year, representing the first down weekend in six weeks.

    Last week's box office leader, Warner Bros.' sci-fi superhero film "Watchmen," slipped to No. 2 spot in its second week of exhibition, with 18 million dollars in ticket sales over the weekend. The film, which lasts 2 hours and 40 minutes, had suffered from bad word-of-mouth after an initial rush to see it.

    However, "Watchman" has grossed 86 million dollars in the United States and Canada over two weeks of play, despite the two-thirds drop in attendance this weekend.

    "The Last House On The Left," a horror remake from Universal, opened in third place with 14.7 million dollars, while action-thriller "Taken" and comedy "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail" were in fourth and fifth with 6.7 million and 5.1 million dollars respectively.