‘Wreck-It Ralph’ scores big at North American theaters

LOS ANGELES, United States – Disney’s animated romp “Wreck-It Ralph” rang up a phenomenal weekend at North American box offices, taking in $49.1 million — almost double the number-two film, figures showed Sunday, November 4.

The premiere of Disney’s movie, which sees a video game villain try to become a hero, almost doubled the business of another hot premiere, Denzel Washington’s “Flight,” about a troubled pilot.

It brought in $25 million, weekend estimates from industry expert Exhibitor Relations said.

In third place was “Argo,” based on a true story about six Americans spirited out of Iran during the 1979-80 hostage crisis; the film directed by and starring Ben Affleck brought in $10.2 million.

Another new movie premiered in the number four spot: “The Man with the Iron Fists.” The action film starring Russell Crowe, in feudal China, brought in $8.22 million.

Action film “Taken 2” — Liam Neeson’s return as ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills — came in fifth with earnings of $6.0 million.

And the number-six spot went to the genre-busting, time-traveling “Cloud Atlas,” in which Tom Hanks and Halle Berry each play six different roles set across a 500-year span, taking in $5.25 million in ticket sales.

“Hotel Transylvania” about an overprotective vampire dad intent on guarding his adolescent daughter against a budding romance with a human boy, was number seven earning $4.5 million.

“Paranormal Activity 4,” the eighth place film, is the fourth installment in the found-footage franchise; it raked in $4.3 million.

“Here Comes the Boom,” a comedy starring Kevin James as a high school teacher intent on becoming a mixed martial arts fighter to raise money for his school, was in ninth place with $3.6 million.

The 10th spot went to the latest in the franchise of “Silent Hill” horror movies, “Silent Hill: Revelation,” which earned $3.3 million in ticket sales the weekend after Halloween. – Agence France-Presse