LOS ANGELES – Audiences lifted the action tale “V for Vendetta” to the top spot at the weekend box office with a $26.1 million debut.
The Warner Bros. film, which stars Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving in a story of revolution against a totalitarian British government, bumped off the previous weekend’s box-office leaders.
Paramount’s romantic comedy “Failure to Launch,” which debuted at No. 1, slipped to second place with $15.8 million, raising its 10-day domestic total to $48.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Disney’s family remake “The Shaggy Dog,” which premiered at No. 2, fell to third with $13.6 million, lifting its 10-day total to $35.9 million.
This weekend’s other new wide release, Paramount’s “She’s the Man,” opened in fourth with $11 million. The romance stars Amanda Bynes as a teen disguising herself as a male to play on a boys soccer team in a modern update of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”
Fox Searchlight’s tobacco-industry satire “Thank You for Smoking” opened to huge numbers in limited release, grossing $260,066 at five theaters for a whopping $52,013 average a cinema. By comparison, “V for Vendetta” averaged $7,767 in 3,365 theaters.
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