17 Jan – "The Green Hornet" seized the highest-grossing opening ever for a live-action superhero comedy, topping "Kick-Ass" US$19.8 million in a sub-genre that usually struggles at the North American box-office, as reported by Box Office Mojo. "Green Hornet" also broke star Seth Rogen's consecutive losing streak after his last successful film "Pineapple Express" in 2008 which was followed by the disappointments of "Zack and Miri Make a Porno", "Observe and Report" as well as "Funny People". The TV-based superhero will be kicking the villains with his sidekick, Kato at the cinemas in 3D on 27 January while normal screenings start on 2 February 2011 while waiting for the release, Singapore fans will be able to catch "The Green Hornet" lead duo Seth Rogen and Jay Chou and director Michael Gondry live at the gala premiere on 24 January 2011.
Meanwhile, last weekend's successful chart-topper, "True Grit", eased 23 percent to an estimated US$11.2 million, lifting its haul to US$126.4 million in 26 days and gaining further ground on Ben Stiller's "Little Fockers". The tracker site also reported that "Season Of The Witch" plummeted 58 percent and from third place to tenth at the North American box-office, grossing an estimated US$4.5 million for a lackluster US$18 million in ten days in its second week. On the other hand, Malaysian filmmaker Syamsul Yusof's first horror flick, "Khurafat - Perjanjian Syaitan" opened to a high of approximately RM2.5 million for the weekend just over (13-16 Jan), according to distributor Primeworks Studios. The movie is playing on a limited release in Singapore and Brunei.
In addition to that, GSC Mid Valley cinema manager Lee Kong Yew revealed that besides "Khurafat – Perjanjian Syaitan", local dra-medy "Great Day" was a hit at the recent weekend, even trumping over Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's revenge-fueled action, "Faster" at the prime location. Lesser releases that debuted over the Ponggal weekend in Malaysia include "Aadukalam", "Siruthai", "Yamla Pagla Deewana" and "Shock Labyrinth", which is also available in 3D. New releases and sneak shows in Singapore over the weekend include "Burlesque", "All Good Things", "Aadukalam", "Siruthai", "Fair Game", "Rabbits Without Ears 2", "Lelio Popo", "Lover's Discourse", "Paris Express" and "Who Are You".