Hollywood has once again learned to never, ever underestimate
the power of teenaged girls, as the new Hannah Montana movie opened
at the top of box office this weekend with an estimated US$29
million in North American ticket sales.
"Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds" had young
ladies lined up and swamping computer ticket sales outlets,
according to Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By
Numbers Sunday.
The movie is a 3-D country music concert performed by Hanna
Montana, a wildly-popular Disney Channel sitcom series character
played by Miley Cyrus, the daughter of country singer Billy Ray
Cyrus.
The Disney release was limited, playing in only 683 theaters in
the United States. But each movie house booked an incredible
average of US$42,460 in sales, according to Media By Numbers.
Disney released a statement Sunday crowing that the film is the
biggest-grossing 3-D ever released, and said it will extend the
film's booking at the limited number of theaters that can properly
screen it.
Meanwhile, The Eye, a Lionsgate thriller starring
Jessica Alba, also opened to strong business with an estimated
US$13 million in sales. But its per-theater average--a healthy
US$5,337--was just one eighth that of Hannah and shows the teen
movie's incredible strength.
Poster of Hannah
Montana (file photo: Xinhua)
The 20th Century Fox film 27 Dresses was in third
place, proving that there is always room for a wintertime romantic
comedy despite generally tepid reviews. it was on track to sell
US$8.4 million in its third week of release, for a total so far of
about US$57 million.
Last week's box office leader, Meet The Spartans, a
spoof comedy which parodies the 2006 blockbuster 300 and
other recent movies, pop culture events, and celebrities, slipped
to No. 5 this weekend with US$7.1 million, while Oscar-nominated
teenage pregnancy comedy June remained steady in the
fourth with US$7.5 million after nine weeks in release.
(Agencies via Xinhua February 4, 2008)
