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LOS ANGELES - Nicolas Cage shared centre stage with a bunch of chipmunks at the North American box office this weekend.
Additionally, movies playing in limited release, such as awards-season contenders "Juno" and "There Will Be Blood," pulled in sell-out holiday crowds. "The Bucket List," a comedy starring
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, opened strongly in three cities before its national release on January 11.
Cage ruled the roost for a second weekend with "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," which sold an estimated US$35.6 million worth of tickets in the three days beginning Friday, according to distributor Walt Disney Pictures.
After two weeks, the action fantasy has earned US$124 million, and is hot on the trail of the US$173 million total of its 2004 predecessor, "National Treasure," the biggest movie of Cage's career. The early international total for the sequel stands at US$59.8 million.
Cage stars as a treasure hunter who tries to solve an ancient puzzle related to Lincoln's assassination, in the process managing to break into both Buckingham Palace and the White House. Critics ridiculed the movie, which also stars Jon Voight and Dame Helen Mirren.
The surprise smash "Alvin and the Chipmunks" moved up one place to No. 2 with US$30 million. The helium-voiced critters, a childhood staple for almost 50 years, have sold US$142.4 million worth of tickets after three weeks. The Twentieth Century Fox film cost in the high-US$50 million range to produce.
SMITH HITS DOUBLE CENTURY
Will Smith's sci-fi thriller "I Am Legend" slipped one place to No. 3 with US$27.5 million, also in its third weekend. The total for the former champ rose to US$194.6 million. Distributor Warner Bros. said it would reach US$200 million on Monday, becoming the studio's third release to hit that level this year, after "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "300." Warner Bros. also had three US$200 million movies in 2005, and said no other studio has ever accomplished that feat in a calendar year.
The political comedy "Charlie Wilson's War" held steady at No. 4 with US$11.8 million. The fact-based film stars Tom Hanks as an obscure Texas congressman who manages to funnel billions of taxpayer dollars to the Afghan rebels fighting the Soviets in the 1980s. The 10-day haul for the Universal Pictures release now stands at US$34.5 million.
"Juno" jumped five places to No. 5 with US$10.3 million in its fourth weekend, after tripling the number of theaters to about 1,000 -- a fraction of the runs for the other movies in the top 10. Its total rose to US$25.7 million, and will soar next weekend when the theater count doubles. Its per-theatre average of US$10,321 was easily the highest in the top 10.
Ellen Page, a 20-year-old Canadian actress, stars in the title role as a precocious schoolgirl who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. Critics have raved about the movie, and it has racked up key nominations for the Critics Choice and Golden Globe awards, making it an early favorite for Oscar consideration.
The movie comes from Fox Searchlight Pictures, which enjoyed similar success a year ago with "Little Miss Sunshine." But that movie's best weekend was just US$7.6 million in 1,602 theaters. It went on to make US$60 million, and won Oscars for Alan Arkin's supporting role and rookie scribe Michael Arndt's original screenplay. "Juno" also comes from a first-time writer, Cody Diablo, a former stripper.
"There Will Be Blood," another film generating Oscar buzz ahead of the January 22 nominations announcement, earned US$185,525 from just two theaters, one each in New York and Los Angeles. Its theatre average of US$92,763 is the highest of 2007, beating the US$68,969 average for Michael Moore's "Sicko," said distributor Paramount Vantage. Daniel Day-Lewis stars in the period saga about the rise and fall of a turn-of-the-century oilman.
"The Bucket List," a Warner Bros. release starring Nicholson and Freeman as cancer patients who race to enjoy their final days, earned US$323,000 from 16 theatres in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, giving it a US$20,188 average.