September 26, 2010
LOS ANGELES — Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” which opened as the No. 1 weekend movie with $19 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The 20th Century
Fox release led a crop of so-so to weak newcomers, though the sequel to Stone’s 1987 hit “Wall Street” did not quite set off a bull market at the box office.
The “Wall Street’ sequel reunites director Stone with Michael Douglas, who reprises his role as investment shark Gordon Gekko. The movie co-stars Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan and Josh Brolin in a tale set against the 2008 economic meltdown.
“I think expectations were pretty high for this movie. That’s not only an iconic character of Gordon Gekko but it’s also an iconic movie,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. “But then, it’s about the world of high finance. That’s not exactly a topic that sets the box office on fire, so I don’t think younger audiences were necessarily going to rush out for something like that.”
The Warner Bros. animated adventure “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” was No. 2 with a soft opening of $16.3 million.
It finished just ahead of the $16 million haul for Warner’s “The Town,” the Ben Affleck heist drama that was the previous weekend’s No. 1 release. “The Town” held up well and raised its 10-day total to $49.1 million, giving it a solid shot at hitting the $100 million mark, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner.
Here are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” $19 million.
2. “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,” $16.3 million.
3. “The Town,” $16 million.
4. “Easy A,” $10.7 million.
5. “You Again,” $8.3 million.
6. “Devil,” $6.5 million.
7. “Resident Evil: Afterlife,” $4.9 million.
8. “Alpha and Omega,” $4.7 million.
9. “Takers,” $1.7 million.
10. “Inception,” $1.2 million.
