New Line Cinema's Rush Hour 3, starring Chinese martial arts hero Jackie Chan, topped North American box office this weekend as this summer's last blockbuster, while Hollywood's hot summer season is approaching its end.
The third installment of the comedy-action franchise about a Hong Kong police inspector and a LAPD agent took in an estimated US$50.2 million over the three-day period in its debut weekend, according to box office tracking firm Media By Numbers Sunday.
But the film's debuting take fell well short of the US$67.4 million made by its predecessor, Rush Hour 2, in August 2001.
Last week's box office leader, The Bourne Ultimatum, slipped to No. 2 but showed continued strength on its second weekend, with an estimated US$33.7 million over the weekend and a total of US$132.3 million in ticket receipts since its release.
20th Century Fox's animated The Simpsons Movie came in No. 3, taking in some US$111 million in its third weekend. The first big screen version of the popular TV series has grossed US$152.5 million so far in US and Canada theaters.
Paramount's adult fantasy epic Stardust, starring Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer, failed to find much traction in fourth place with an estimated US$9 million in its debuting weekend, while Disney's canine comedy Underdog came in fifth with about US$6.5 million dollars.
With Rush Hour 3 in theaters, there are no more blockbusters scheduled this summer season, which runs from the first weekend in May through early September.
Industry analysts said that with US$3.6 billion already at hand this summer season, Hollywood could expect the best summer in its history, probably with a total of US$4 billion at box office.
The top-selling 12 movies this weekend grossed 37 percent higher than the top dozen in the same period last year. And box office revenues are up 6.6 percent so far this year, to about US$6.3 billion.
(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2007)
