娱乐英语新闻:"Dolphin Tale" swims to top spot of North America box office

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- "Dolphin Tale," a 3-D film which debuted last weekend has overperformed on its sophomore weekend in North America, raking in 14.2 million U.S. dollars in ticket sales, projected statistics provided by distributor Warner Bros. suggested.

The drama, which is based on the true story of a mammal that lost its tail in a crab trap, has seen a mere drop of 25 percent from premiere. It is on track to gross 37.5 million dollars in movie ticket stubs over 10 days of 2-D and 3-D play. The receipt was good enough for the family drama to prevail against other strong holdovers -- Sony's baseball movie "Moneyball" and Disney's re-released animated saga "The Liong King 3-D," as well as gaining an upper hand over a crop of newcomers.

The flick, starring Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson and Morgan Freeman, was shot by Alcon Entertainment for around 37 million dollars and has earned a rare A+ grade from moviegoer feedback firm CinemaScore.

"Moneyball," a Brad Pitt starrer which opened at number two last weekend, is projected to take in 12.5 million dollars and is on track for a 38.5 million-dollar gross, keeping its position unchanged for two weekends in a row.

"The Lion King 3-D" has finally been overthrown from its North America box office throne which it had kept for two consecutive weeks, slided to third spot,taking in only 11 million dollars in movie ticket stubs. It is on track for a 79.7 million-dollar total in three weeks.

Of a pair of movies which premiered this weekend, "50/50" is projected to take in 8.84 million dollars at fourth spot, while " Courageous" will make 8.80 million dollars in ticket receipts, ending in fifth place.

A true story-based comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, "50/50" tells how a 27-year-old cancer patient struggle to beat the disease after learning its diagnosis. The film missed its pre-release target of around 12 million dollars, and garnered a A- grade from CinemaScore.

"Courageous," a faith-based family drama produced by Sherwood Entertainment and distributed by Sony, also earned a rare A- grade from CinemaScore. It is shot at 2 million dollars. It is the studio's fourth film after "Flywheel," "Facing the Giants" and " Fireproof."

Rounding out the 10 most-popular films this weekend are "Dream House"(opening with 8.2 million dollars), "Abduction" (5.7 million dollars), What's Your Number?" (opening with 5.6 million dollars), "Contagion" (5 million dollars), and "Killer Elite" (4.9 million dollars).