"The Simpsons Movie" took in 71.9 million dollars this weekend in North America as the big- screen version of the most popular cartoon series in the United States debuted in theaters after its TV premiere 18 years ago, according to box office figures released here Sunday.
Homer Simpson may not be able to understand why people would buy movie tickets for something they get for free on television, but America's favorite father and his family were by far the most- popular movie in the United States and Canada over the weekend.
Meanwhile, distributor 20th Century Fox said the film also opened strongly in about 70 overseas markets, with the international tally at about 96 million dollars.
"The Simpsons Movie" easily topped last week's box office leader, Universal's comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," which sold 19 million dollars worth of tickets in its second weekend in release.
The latest Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix," was estimated to sell 17 million dollars this weekend, bringing its North American box office sales total to 242 million dollars. Its worldwide box office revenues have nearly reached the 600 million-dollar mark since its release two weeks ago.
New Line Cinema musical "Hairspray" was No. 4 at the box office with 15.6 million dollars this weekend, while Warner Bros.' new release "No Reservations," a romantic comedy starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as a gourmet chef, earned 11.8 million dollars at No. 5.
The better-than-expected box office performance of "The Simpsons Movie" helped boost Hollywood's box office take this week, as the 12 top-selling films grossed 168.6 million dollars, representing a staggering 45 percent jump from that in the same period last year.
Source: Xinhua
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