US Box Office - Underworld slays the competition, Red Tails soars

It was another impressive weekend at the US box office thanks in no small part to a wide variety of new releases. The fourth installment of the Underworld series continued its string of $20 million + openings, with Kate Beckinsale's return to the franchise propelling it to a $24 million dollar opening. The series has been remarkably consistent and audiences seem to have a limitless appetite for vampire related content.

The George Lucas-produced Red Tails also had a stronger than expected opening. Many analysts were sceptical of an all African American cast being able to generate a strong opening. The World War Two themed action film pulled in $19 million dollars this weekend. George Lucas indicated he wants to do a sequel and a prequel for the film. Just typing 'George Lucas' and 'prequel' in the same sentence makes me cringe just a little. If anyone thinks that's a good idea, wait a few weeks and go see the re-release of The Phantom Menace.

Last week's number one film Contraband had a decent hold, hauling in another $12 million landing it at number three for the weekend. The 9/11 themed drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close opened without much fanfare. In spite of starring two of the biggest box office draws in Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, the movie opened to an unremarkable $11 million. 9/11 movies have been a hard sell. Even with two of the most bankable stars in the world, audiences seemed relatively ambivalent about the movie and the subject matter. American audiences have made it fairly obvious that they have no interest in the subject of 9/11 or the war on terror at the box office.

This week's other new release, the Steven Soderbergh directed action film Haywire, landed with a 'thud'. The film was marketed heavily on the ensemble cast including Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Bandereas, and Michael Fassbender. All those names together were only able to net $9 million dollars in ticket sales.

Next week is another slew of studio offerings including the Liam Neeson survival thriller The Grey, Sam Worthington in the heist thriller Man on a Ledge, and the Katherine Heigl comedy One for the Money. Expect to see The Grey at number one next week with steep drops for Underworld, Red Tails and the rest in their second week out.

Here's your top films for North America:

1. Underworld: Awakening
Weekend Estimate: $24 million

2. Red Tails
Weekend Estimate: $19 million

3. Contraband
Weekend Estimate: $12 million; $46 million total

4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Weekend Estimate: $11 million

5. Haywire
Weekend Estimate: $9 million

Anghus Houvouras