“Jumper” Gained Number One Spot Over The Weekend
“Jumper” – starring Hayden Christensen (Star Wars The Phantom Menace) took the lead at the box office this weekend as number 1. It seems that the audience ignored the warnings of the critics who didn’t seem to care at all for the movie.
The movie, in which Hayden Christensen plays a man who is able to “teleport” around the world, earned an estimated $27.2 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, distributor 20th Century Fox said. It fended off three other rookies. The urban dance sequel “Step Up 2 the Streets” opened at No. 2 with $19.7 million for the three-day period, followed by the children’s literary adaptation “The Spiderwick Chronicles” with $19.1 million. The romance “Definitely, Maybe” opened at No. 5 with $9.7 million, failing to rouse much Valentine’s Day passion.
Last week’s champ, “Fool’s Gold,” fell to No. 4 with $13.1 million. After 10 days, the romantic adventure starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, has earned $42 million. It was released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.
In an unprecedented strategy, all four newcomers opened on Thursday - a day earlier than usual - in hopes of pulling in some Valentine’s Day business from couples. Including Thursday sales, “Jumper” earned $33.9 million, “Step Up 2 the Streets” $26.3 million, “The Spiderwick Chronicles” $21.5 million and “Definitely, Maybe” $12.8 million. Both “Fool’s Gold” and “Jumper” were eviscerated by critics, but moviegoers evidently warmed to their storylines or advertising campaigns.
“Jumper,” directed by Doug Liman (”The Bourne Identity”), cost in the $80-million range to make, said Fox. About two-thirds of the audience was male moviegoers under 25, according to first-day polling data supplied by the News Corp-owned studio. The film was based on Steven Gould’s young-adult sci-fi novels “Jumper” and “Reflex.”