1 Feb – Exorcism-themed horror flick "The Rite" crept into first with US $14.8 million on approximately 3,200 screens at 2,985 locations in North America for the weekend just gone (Jan 27-30). That was the highest-grossing opening ever for Anthony Hopkins in a top-billed, non-Hannibal-Lecter role, surpassing "Fracture", reported online tracker Box Office Mojo.
The same source said "The Green Hornet" experienced a standard superhero decline and settled for second place, while "The King's Speech" leveraged its 12 Oscar nominations to move in to third place. It has amassed an impressive US $61.1 million total since opening in limited release in November.
Both "The Rite" and "The King's Speech" will open in Singapore come 10 February and a week later than that in Malaysia.
Evidently Seth Rogen and Jay Chou's pairing in "The Green Hornet" pulled a lot more fans in Malaysia and Singapore compared to North America, as the movie topped the charts on just 3D shows alone.
The regular 35mm shows for "The Green Hornet" will start in Malaysia and Singapore on 2 February 2011.
At the same time, Malaysia also says a temporary farewell to its first trend-setting multiplex, TGV 1 Utama, that has been in service since 1995. The weekend just gone had been the outlet's last business weekend and according to TGV Cinemas' statement on their social media site, it will undergo a facelift to follow the recent revitalisation of its outlets and its general brand.
It is reliably learned that the new TGV will not be exactly where it is currently – but somewhere within the vicinity of the mall.
Other releases that debuted over the weekend in Malaysia include "Pathinaru", "HAQ The Movie" and "Shaolin".
New releases and sneak shows in Singapore over the weekend include "Black Swan", "The Rebound", "Homecoming", Mr. & Mrs. Incredible", "I Love Hong Kong", "All's Well Ends Well 2011", "Stan Helsing", "A Great, Great World", "Freakonomics" and "Uncle Boonmee".