娱乐英语新闻:"True Grit" nudged out "Little Fockers" to rule box office

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- "True Grit" has walked off its third weekend run at the North American box office triumphantly, gaining an upper hand over its celluloid arch rival, "Little Fockers," to be the top player, preliminary statistics suggested on Sunday.

The Coen brothers' retooling of the 1969 western classic which originally casted John Wayne, is expected to garner 15 million dollars in ticket receipts for three days over the weekend, well on pace to gross a total of 110.4 million dollars in a lackluster weekend. The Paramount release, which has received a number of awards and nominations in various award events, is considered a favorite in the leadup to the 83rd Academy Awards.

The poster of "True Grit"

"Little Fockers," the third installment on the "Fockers" franchise starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, is predicted to rake in 13.8 million dollars worth of ticket stubs, surrendering its top place for the last week to "True Grit," a Jeff Bridges vehicle. The comedy has sold a total of 124 million dollars worth of tickets three weeks into the screening.

Only two new movies debuted in the movie theaters in Canada and the U.S.over the weekend. One of them, "Seasons of the Witch," an adventure/action drama released by Relativity Media, opened at the third place with 10.7 million dollars. Critics termed the Nicolas Cage vehicle a mixture of road movie, buddy film, supernatural thriller and period drama.

Another movie which premiered across the North American region is "Country Strong", a melodrama set among country music performers. It opened with 7.3 million dollars.