EDDIE MURPHY -

HANGOVER DERAILS PELHAM

Producers of The Hangover were no doubt raising their glasses high to toast the ascension of their movie to the top of the box-office results list for the second consecutive week. The Hangover, which reportedly cost $30 million to make, took in an estimated $33.42 million over the weekend, down just 26 percent from the previous weekend, when it earned $44.9 million. After performing strongly mid-week, the Warner Bros. movie has now earned $105 million in ten days -- outperforming a raft of competitors costing four times as much --or much more -- to make. Disney/Pixar's Up (which reportedly cost $175 million) also continued to impress in its third week as it earned about $30.5 million, down from $44.1 million a week earlier, a drop of 31 percent. The movie has now earned $187.2 million. The Taking of Pelham 123 took third with $25 million, a figure at the low end of analysts' predictions, but "solid-to-strong," as Daily Variety put it, nonetheless. But Eddie Murphy is likely take a hit to his reported $20-million-a-movie salary following the dismal performance of his latest family comedy Imagine That , which earned just $5.7 million. The movie had been expected to perform poorly -- but not that poorly. His last movie, Meet Dave , which came out last year, also tanked, earning only $5.4 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo 1. The Hangover , $33.4 million; 2. Up , $30.5 million; 3. The Taking of Pelham 123 , $25 million; 4. Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian , $9.6 million; 5. Land of the Lost, $9.2 million; 6. Imagine That , $5.7 million; 7. Star Trek , $5.6 million; 8. Terminator Salvation , $4.7 million; 9. Angels & Demons , $4.2 million; 10. Drag Me to Hell , $3.9 million.

15/06/2009