A scene from the movie 'Stomp the Yard. - Contributed
LOS ANGELES (Reuters):
The new urban dance drama Stomp the Yard ended the three-week reign of Night at the Museum at the North American box office on Sunday, while three other rookies failed to make much of an impact.
Stomp earned US$22 million since its Friday opening, distributor Columbia Pictures said.
Actor-dancer Columbus Short plays a college student who vies for the affections of a girl (Meagan Good) by entering a "stepping" competition. The high-energy dance style has been popular for decades among black fraternities and sororities. The film cost about US$14 million to make, said Columbia, a unit of Sony Corp.
Also new were Alpha Dog, a suburban gangster movie starring Justin Timberlake, at number seven with a three-day sum of US$6.1 million; the killer-croc horror Primeval at number eight with US$6.0 million; and the French-made live action/animated fantasy Arthur and the Invisibles at number nine with US$4.3 million.
The Ben Stiller comedy Night at the Museum slipped to number two with US$17.1 million. After four weeks, the 20th Century Fox release has earned US$185.8 million.
The melodrama The Pursuit of Happyness, a film some pundits expect to secure an Academy Award nomination for star Will Smith when contenders are unveiled on January 23, slipped to number three with US$9.1 million. The five-week haul for the Columbia release stands at US$136.5 million.
'ALPHA DOG'
Alpha Dog, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival a year ago, was originally set for a spring 2006 release by New Line Cinema. But producer Sidney Kimmel took his project to General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures following a dispute with New Line over its cautious distribution strategy.
Based on true story
Loosely based on the true story of Jesse James Hollywood, who is awaiting trial in California, it stars Emile Hirsch as a baby-faced thug who masterminds the kidnapping and killing of a rival's brother. Timberlake plays one of his henchmen, and helped account for the fact that 53 per cent of the audience was female. Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone also star. It was directed by Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook).
Primeval, a thriller about journalists in Africa on the trail of a killer croc, "the world's most prolific killer," according to the advertising, was released without screening in advance for critics, an increasingly common tactic employed by studios to avoid evisceration. It stars Dominic Purcell and Orlando Bloom, and was released by Walt Disney Co.
Arthur and the Invisibles, directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson, stars Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow, while Robert De Niro, David Bowie and Madonna lead the voice cast. It was released on behalf of the Weinstein Co. by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Both are closely held.
Elsewhere, the much-hyped Oscar contender Dreamgirls rose one place to number four with $8.1 million, swapping places with the Hilary Swank drama Freedom Writers, which earned $7.1 million. Both were released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.
Box office listings
1 () Stomp the Yard
US$22 million.
2 (1) Night at the Museum US$ 17.1 million.
3 (2) The Pursuit of Happyness US$ 9.1 million.
4 (5) Dreamgirls
US$ 8.1 million.
5 (4) Freedom Writers
US$ 7.1 million.
6 (3) Children of Men
US$ 6.4 million.
7 () Alpha Dog
US$ 6.1 million.
8 () Primeval
US$ 6 million.
9 () Arthur and the Invisibles US$ 4.3 million.
10 (8) The Good Shepherd US$ 3.9 million.
