娱乐英语新闻:"The Rite" opens at box office to mostly negative reviews

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- "The Rite," an Anthony Hopkins starrer inspired by true events, opened atop the North America box office with 15 million dollars in ticket receipts, and received mostly negative reviews from movie critics, it was reported on Sunday.

The thriller, a Warner Bros. release which follows how an American seminary student attending exorcism school at the Vatican finds faith through encounters with demonic forces, was made with a budget of 37 million dollars. Opening at 2,985 theaters across North America, it was rated as "rotten" by movie tracking website Rotten Tomatoes.

A poster of the film "The Rite".

Only 18 percent of the 72 critics gave it a positive review. Although Anthony Hopkins is as excellent as ever, the critics agreed that the Oscar best actor winner, who is considered one of the greatest living actors, is no match for the flick's dawdling pace and lack of chills.

"No Strings Attached," an R-rated comedy starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, slipped from last week's No. 1 to the second place, with an estimated gross of 13.7 million dollars worth of tickets in its second week of screening in Canada and the United States. Its two-week cumulative sales total 39.7 million dollars.

This weekend's another debut, "The Mechanic" from CBS Films, tied with "The Green Hornet (3-D)" for the third place with 11.5 million dollars in movie ticket sales. A remake of the 1972 film of the same name, "The Mechanic" is a gangster thriller that delves into the dangerous minds of the underworld's most elite killers.

"The King's Speech," an Academy favorite which garnered the Directors Guild of America top award overnight, ranked in the fifth place, grossing 11.1 million dollars.

Rounding out the top 10 most popular films of North America box office are:

-- No. 6: "True Grit," 7.6 million dollars;

-- No. 7: "The Dilemma," 5.48 million dollars;

-- No. 8: "Black Swan," 5.1 million dollars;

-- No. 9: "The Fighter," 4.1 million dollars, and

-- No. 10: "Yogi Bear," 3.2 million dollars.