娱乐英语新闻:"Evil Dead" debuts as No. 1 in North America

LOS ANGELES, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Sony re-boot of Sam Raimi' s 1981 cult horror "Evil Dead" opened this weekend in North America with a better-than-expected performance, while another retooling of a 20-year-old dinosaur-themed classic also make it into the top five most popular films.

"Evil Dead," which costs 17 million U.S. dollars to make, is on track to rake in 26 million dollars in ticket receipts over the Friday-Sunday period, according to preliminary statistics released by Sony.

The modestly budgeted R-rated thriller, which was jointly made by Sony/TriStar, FilmDistrict and Raimi's Ghost House Pictures, hit the screens in 3,025 theaters in the United States and Canada, and earned a "C+" CinemaScore from audiences. This grade is generally a bad sign for a debut, but it's rather promising for a thriller.

The horror film, the fourth "Evil Dead" title and the first not to be directed by Raimi, was directed by 35-year-old Uruguayan Fede Alverez who was hand-picked by Raimi to resurrect his signature masterpiece. It deals with five friends who awaken a demonic presence while visiting a cabin in rural Massachusetts.

In global box office, the film garnered 4.5 million dollars from 21 foreign markets this weekend.

"G.I.Joe: Retaliation," from Paramount, registered a 49 percent drop from last week, finishing in No. 2 with 21.1 million dollars in ticket sales. It is on track for a 86.1 million dollar 10-day cumulative gross.

"The Croods" finishes in No. 3 with a 21.1 million dollar weekend. The 3D computer-animated prehistoric adventure comedy film, which is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be released by 20th Century Fox, has grossed 125 million dollars during 17 days in exhibition.

"Jurassic Park 3D," another new release which hit the theaters over the weekend, is projected to fetch 18.2 million dollars at No. 4. The Universal's 3D reissue of Steven Spielberg's 1993 "Jurassic Park" plays heavily toward male filmgoers which accounted for 55 percent. Fifty-four percent of the audiences was 25 years and older.

Rounding out the 10 most popular films this weekend in North America were "Olympus Has Fallen"(USD 10 million),"Tyler Perry's Temptation"(10 million), "Oz The Great And Powerful" (8.1 million), "The Host"(5.2 million), "The Call"(3.5 million), and "Admission"( 2 million).