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Gibson rules box office with $14.2 million debut |
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Written by asap
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Monday, 11 December 2006 |
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 Mel Gibson's bloody epic "Apocalypto" overcame the filmmaker's personal baggage to debut as the No. 1 weekend movie.
"Apocalypto," a Disney release set in the Mayan civilization and told in an obscure Mayan language, opened with $14.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
It was a modest haul compared to the $83.8 million opening weekend of Gibson's last movie, the 2004 religious blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ." The crucifixion film went on to do $370 million domestically.
Gibson had an infamous drunken driving arrest and anti-Semitic tirade last summer, but "Apocalypto" overcame it as well as its no-name cast. The hyper-violent tale includes beheadings and images of hearts ripped from people's chests.
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OTHER MOVIES
Sony's romance "The Holiday" debuted at No. 2 with $13.5 million. The movie stars Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Jude Law in the story of American and British women who swap homes for the holidays and find love in the process.
The Warner Bros. thriller "Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, opened at No. 5 with $8.5 million.
Also from Warner Bros., the holiday comedy "Unaccompanied Minors," about a group of kids run amok while stranded at an airport Christmas Eve, premiered at No. 6 with $6.2 million.
The Warner Bros. animated hit "Happy Feet" and Sony's James Bond adventure "Casino Royale," which had been the top-two movies for three-straight weekends, slipped to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
"Happy Feet" took in $12.7 million, raising its total to $137.7 million. "Casino Royale" grossed $8.8 million, lifting its total to $128.9 million.
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