娱乐英语新闻:"Megamind" opens on top of North America box office

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The animated supervillain comedy film "Megamind" opened on the top of the North America box office, garnering 47.7 million U.S. dollars over the weekend owing largely to its own story-telling allure, the North America box office authority said on Sunday, based on projected movie ticket receipts.

The Paramount/Dreamworks release, which features the voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross and Brad Pitt, premiered on some 7,300 screens at 3,944 locations in Canada and the United States.

As Paramount's third No.1 opening in four weekends, "Megamind" did that good without much of a boost from pricey 3-D admissions, as only 66 percent of the gross came from 3D shows, of which 7 percent was IMAX 3D. The movie is especially popular with young and female moviegoers, as 52 percent of the audience was under 25, and 57 percent was female, the distributor' s exit polls show.

Cast members (L-R) Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, and Ben Stiller arrive for the premiere of the film "Megamind" in New York November 3, 2010.

Opening in second place is "Due Date," a road-film comedy released by Warner Bros. and took in 33.5 million dollars, the eighth-biggest opening ever for an R-rated comedy.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis and Michelle Monaghan, the comedy is the latest film from director Todd Phillips, which is second only to the opening of "The Hangover" (45 million dollars). The film tells of a story about how a High-strung father-to-be Peter Highman is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay on a road trip in order to make it to his child's birth on time.

Also premiering in third place over the weekend is "For Colored Girls," a Liongate release by Tyler Perry but lacked his usual comedic elements. As Perry's only adaptation of someone else's work -- Ntozake Shange's 1975 stage play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf," the film tells how eight African-American women, seven of whom are based on the play's seven characters only known by color ("Lady in Red", "Lady in Blue", "Lady in Yellow" etc) deal with different personal conflicts such as love, abandonment, rape, infidelity, and abortion.

Rounding off the top 10 most popular movies are:

-- No.4: "Red," Summit, 8.9 million dollars this weekend, 71.9 million dollars over four weeks;

-- No.5: "Saw 3-D," Lionsgate, 8.2 million dollars this weekend, 28.8 million dollars over two weeks;

-- No.6: "Paranormal Activity 2," Paramount, 7.3 million dollars this weekend, 77.2 million dollars over three weeks;

-- No.7: "Jackass 3-D," Paramount, 5 million dollars this weekend, 110.8 million dollars over four weeks;

-- No.8: "Hereafter," Warner Bros., 4 million dollars this weekend, 28.7 million dollars over four weeks;

-- No.9: "Secretariat," Disney, 4 million dollars this weekend, 51 million dollars over five weeks; and

-- No.10: "The Social Network," Sony, 3.6 million dollars this weekend, 85 million dollars over six weeks.