Summary ‘Thor: The Dark World’ continued its box-office reign with $38.5mn in its second week of release.
NEW YORK (AP) - In an unlikely battle of sequels, "Thor: The Dark World" bested "The Best Man Holiday" at the box office.
Disney s "Thor: The Dark World" continued its box-office reign with $38.5 million in its second week of release, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Opening 15 years after the original "The Best Man," Universal s "The Best Man Holiday" opened strongly with $30.6 million.
Drawing an overwhelmingly female and African-American audience, "The Best Man Holiday" was a surprise challenger for the mighty "Thor." The R-rated romantic comedy, with an ensemble cast including Morris Chestnut and Taye Diggs, debuted with more than three times the box office of 1999 s "The Best Man." That film opened with $9 million.
Marvel s Norse superhero, however, has been hammering audiences around the globe. "Thor: The Dark World" made $52.5 million internationally over the weekend, bringing its worldwide total to $479.8 million. With Chris Hemsworth as the title character and Tom Hiddleston as the popular villain Loki, the Thor franchise has proven to be one of Marvel s most successful.
Just as "Thor" approached the half-billion mark, Warner Bros. space adventure "Gravity" crossed it in its seventh week of release.
"The Best Man Holiday" was the only new wide-release opening over the weekend, as the marketplace clears out for the release of "Hunger Games: Catching Fire." In limited release, Alexander Payne s black-and-white Midwest road trip "Nebraska" opened in four locations with a strong $35,000 per theater average for Paramount Pictures.
Martin Scorsese s "The Wolf of Wall Street" was originally slated to open, but was postponed to Dec. 25 by Paramount.
Expected to be one of the year s biggest debuts, Lionsgate s "Catching Fire" will abruptly close the box-office window for "Thor" next weekend. "Catching Fire" opened in Brazil over the weekend, earning $6.3 million.
