"Thor" fights off "Bridesmaids" to keep box office lead
Superhero movie "Thor" remained at the top of the North American box office for the second week in a row. Wedding comedy "Bridesmaids" had an impressive opening, making its way to second place.
"Thor", a Marvel comic adaptation, made $34.7 million in its second weekend of release and kept its number one spot at the North American box office. "Bridesmaids" made $26.2 million in its first weekend, replacing "Fast Five" as the number two movie and beating all expectations.
"Thor" is directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Chris Hemsworth as the superhero incarnation of the god of thunder. The movie made $65.7 million at its North American debut the weekend before.
"Bridesmaids" took $32.5 million to make and was expected to open to about $10 million less than it ended up doing.
The funny film is about a group of rather unconventional bridesmaids. It stars Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rose Byrne. Judd Apatow is the comedy's producer, which could account for some of the raunchy jokes throughout the film.
The movie, mainly directed at a female audience, managed to bring men to the cinemas as well, which could explain its success.
High-adrenaline action movie "Fast Five" fell one place to number three at the North American box office, but still did quite well overall. The fifth "Fast and the Furious" movie made an estimated $19.5 million in its third weekend.
Vampire thriller "Priest" came in fourth place, with $14.5 million. The movie, which stars Paul Bettany and Cam Gigandet, failed to meet box office expectations in its opening weekend.
Animated comedy "Rio" was fifth, with ticket sales of about $8 million, only 6% less than the weekend before.
At the international box office, "Fast Five" held the number one position, making an estimated $58 million. "Thor" earned about $27.5 million, but the superhero epic kept the number one spot at the UK and Ireland box office, with ticket sales of £1.36 million.
Despite the success of "Thor", the profits are not as impressive as those of 2010's "Iron Man 2", another Marvel blockbuster. But they do meet expectations, since the hit-making studio saw "Thor" as a more difficult adaptation to make.
Also, the movie's star Chris Hemsworth has yet to make a name for himself in Hollywood, while Robert Downey Jr., the star of "Iron Man 2", is a well-established celebrity.
