Another Slow Weekend At The Us Box Office As 'Resident Evil 5' Tops Charts

It was another pretty slow weekend for the US Box Office top 10, but the makers of the fifth Resident Evil cared little as they went to the top of the charts on their debut weekend. The latest instalment of the film adaptation of the successful video game took figures of $21.1 million, according to early estimates.

The film beat out the Disney Pixar 3D re-release of Finding Nemo, which took a decent total of $17.5 million. The original version of the film was released in 2003 and features the voices of Ellen Degeneres, Willem Dafoe and Albert Brooks, gaining an Academy Award for best animated feature at the time; a Finding Nemo 2 release date is expected in 2016. There was some surprise that the 3D release didn't top the charts, when compared with the Lion King 3D taking $30.1 million upon opening last year. Last week's number one, thriller The Possession fell to third place with takings of $5.8 million, according to the BBC.

Elsewhere, there was a suggestion that The Master will be the film to really pick up business again after it smashed the per-screen record for a live-action film on its debut weekend. The movie, which depicts the early days of the Scientology faith, has been gaining plaudits recently at the Toronto Film Festival, with co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman mesmerising critics. A limited release across five cinemas saw the film take $729,745. It will open at more screens in the coming weeks.