Writer-director Abrams (“Star Trek,’’ TV’s “Lost’’) was inspired by his own youth as a Super 8 filmmaker who emulated such talents as Spielberg, a producer on “Super 8.’’
When the studio scheduled “Super 8’’ amid such known summer quantities as “Pirates of the Caribbean’’ and “Kung Fu Panda’’ sequels, “there was some concern we were sending a signal that it was a big summer blockbuster,’’ Harris said. “What we really wanted to do was find a place where the movie could open, find its audience, and hopefully play for a long time.’’
“Super 8’’ bumped off the previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, 20th Century Fox’s comic-book prequel “X-Men: First Class,’’ which slipped to second place with $25 million. “First Class’’ raised its domestic total to $98.9 million.
After a string of blockbuster debuts in May and early June, Hollywood’s overall revenues dipped for the first time in a month. Domestic receipts totaled $140 million, down 7.5 percent from the same weekend last year, when “The Karate Kid’’ led with $55.7 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.
The weekend’s other new wide release, the family flick “Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer,’’ opened weakly at No. 7 with $6.3 million. The movie follows a young girl’s wacky summer adventures.
“Super 8’’ started with $1 million in sneak-peek screenings Thursday, giving it a domestic total of $38 million.
The movie added $6.7 million in nine international markets, including $2.7 million in Australia. It expands to about 15 more countries next weekend, among them Russia, Greece, and Turkey.
Two sequels passed the $200 million mark domestically this weekend.
The Warner Bros. comedy “The Hangover Part II’’ came in at No. 3 with $18.5 million to become the year’s top-grossing domestic release at $216.6 million.
Disney’s action tale “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’’ was No. 5 with $10.9 million, raising its domestic haul to $208.8 million.
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