Mark Wahlberg's 'Contraband' Takes Weekend Top Box Office Spot with $28.8M

Mark Wahlberg’s new thriller, “Contraband” took the top spot at the box office this extended weekend, drawing $28.4 million over the four-day, Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. It was a commanding lead ahead of Disney’s 3D version of “Beauty and the Beast,” which brought in $24.7 million. Movie ticket sales are higher than expected, which is joy to the ears of those in the entertainment industry. Taking the fourth spot this weekend was “Joyful Noise,” starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. The movie brought in $14 million.

Both “Contraband” and “Beauty and the Beast 3D” are doing much better than the initial estimates. In fact, the two movies help push total box office revenues higher than those at the same time last year. “Beauty and the Beast” had the best opening in January for any animated film. The previous record holder was “Hoodwinked” which brought in $16.9 million back in 2006.

“Contraband” is a remake of an Icelandic film made in 2009 and women were a major part of the audience. In fact, 49 percent of those movie goers who saw “Contraband” this past weekend were women. The film was made for about $25 million by Universal and Working Title, which is based out of London. It’s the best premiere that Working Title has had to date, beating the previous record of $22.8 million set by “The Interpreter.” Last week’s number one movie was the horror film, “The Devil Inside.” It broke records last week and has now earned $46.2 million, but saw a 77 percent decline this week at the box office. Paramount Pictures bought that film for a measly $1 million.

“Joyful Noise” is neck-and-neck with “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” for the number 3 slot. “Ghost Protocol” brought in $11.5 million in the first three days of the weekend, but now stands at $187.6 million since its premier.

Author Profile: Administrator

This author has published 487 articles so far. More info about the author is coming soon.