LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The superhero mutants from the blockbuster X-Men franchise fought their way to the top of North America's box office over one of the biggest US film-going holidays, industry estimates showed on Sunday, May 25, 2014.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past, a time-bending movie already a hit with critics, debuted with an estimated US$110 million (S$137.8 million) including the Monday Memorial Day holiday, which is the unofficial kick-off of the summer movie season.
The star-studded cast includes Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Michael Fassbender and Halle Berry.
Rounding out a mutant-monster weekend was Godzilla, featuring Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston as a tortured Japanese-speaking scientist battling to save humanity.
The film raked in US$38.5 million including Memorial Day, according to tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Meanwhile, romantic comedy Blended, featuring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, opened over the weekend in third place, with US$18 million including the holiday.
Neighbours starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as a couple living next door to a raucous fraternity house, earned a fourth-place ranking with slightly less than US$17.8 million over the long weekend.
In fifth place was another comic-book favourite, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which fell from third place last week, earning US$10 million including Monday.
Million Dollar Arm which stars Jon Hamm and tells the true story of a Major League Baseball agent who goes to India to find the next big thing among cricket players, came in sixth place, pulling in US$8.9 million with Memorial Day ticket sales.
Sliding to seventh was The Other Woman, a romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz, with US$4.6 million over the four-day period.
Animated flick "Rio 2" fell one place to eighth, taking in US$3.4 million including Monday.
The movie only barely overtook foodie flick Chef, the story of a fictional celebrity chef who decides to embark on a food-truck adventure, which estimates showed would bring in US$2.9 million.
Rounding out the top ten was Heaven Is For Real, starring Greg Kinnear as the father of a four-year-old boy who wakes up from emergency surgery with a story about going to heaven and back, with estimated ticket sales falling around US$2.6 million for the four-day period.
