NICOLAS CAGE - NICOLAS CAGE FINDS BANGKOK DANGEROUS TO TAKE US TOP SPOT

NICOLAS CAGE FINDS BANGKOK DANGEROUS TO TAKE US TOP SPOT

Nicolas Cage's new action film Bangkok Dangerous has taken the number one spot at the US box office after its first weekend on release.

The Lionsgate movie, a remake of 1999's Asian film of the same name, debuted at the top of the charts with just $7.8 million (£4.4 million) in box office receipts, in what was the slowest box office weekend for seven years.

Tracking service Media By Numbers said the total takings of the top ten films in the US - just $66 million (£37.3 million) - could be blamed on both the traditional slowing of the market in September as well as audiences waiting for the new autumn television season.

"The marketplace is definitely shifting gears," said president Paul Dergarabedian

"The attention is shifting to the small screen."

However, the poor takings in the US also represent the seventh consecutive weekend that box office receipts have been lower than in 2007.

"We don't want that to turn into ten weeks or more because that's not good for the health of the industry," Dergarabedian added.

Last week's number one film Tropic Thunder dropped to number two while Anna Faris comedy The House Bunny climbed one place to third.

The top ten films at the US box office are: (last week's position)

1 Bangkok Dangerous (-)
2 Tropic Thunder (1)
3 The House Bunny (4)
4 The Dark Knight (3)
5 Traitor (5)
6 Babylon AD (2)
7 Death Race (6)
8 Disaster Movie (7)
9 Mamma Mia! (8)
10 Pineapple Express (9)