Two movies on top of US box office

LOS ANGELES, USA – Los Angeles cop drama “End of Watch” and horror-thriller flick “House at the End of the Street,” jointly topped the North American box office on their debut weekend, estimates showed Sunday.

Both films took US$13-M in receipts, with another new release, “Trouble with the Curve,” starring Clint Eastwood, only narrowly behind with US$12.7-M, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

The 3D version of “Finding Nemo,” slipped from second to 4th place, with US$9.4-M, while sci-fi action-thriller “Resident Evil: Retribution,” last week’s number one, was well back in 5th, on earnings of US$6.7-M.

“Dredd,” a 3D production based on the comic strip Judge Dredd and its eponymous character, earned US$6.3-M on its opening weekend, enough for 6th spot in the standings.

“The Master,” a drama about a World War II naval veteran, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix, jumped from a lowly 19th to 7th place this week on earnings of US$5-M.

“The Possession,” a supernatural thriller starring Kyra Sedgwick, was knocked into 8th, with an estimated US$2.36-M in takings.

And rounding out the top 10 were the Depression-era gangster tale “Lawless” (US$2.31-M) in 9th, and “ParaNorman,” an animated movie about a boy who can speak to the dead, with US$2.3-M in earnings. – Agence France-Presse