With a $80 million weekend across the world, Brave easily beat new historical/horror mashup Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Disney's new animated movie Brave; about a rebellious, red-headed princess, battled to the top of movie box-office charts over the weekend, scoring $80 million in ticket sales around the world. The fairy tale from Disney's Pixar studio pulled in $66.7 million at domestic theaters from Friday through Sunday, plus $13.5 million from international markets. Brave easily topped new historical/horror mashup Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which finished the weekend in third place. The 3D Brave is set in the ancient Scottish highlands and centers around horseback-riding teen princess Merida, who defies her mother and her kingdom's traditions. Merida, voiced by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald, must then use her courage and archery skills to undo a curse. The movie brings the 13th consecutive number one opening to Pixar, which has become Hollywood's most reliable studio during its 17-year history of making films. Starting with Toy Story in 1995, its 12 films before Brave have generated more than $7.2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, according to Hollywood.com. Its 2010 film Toy Story 3 was the biggest selling film that year, with $415 million in U.S. ticket sales and nearly $1.1 billion worldwide. Brave is a departure for Pixar, and is its first film to feature a strong female as the lead character, following a long Disney tradition with female heroines that in recent years have included Mulan and Pocahontas. Brave cost about $185 million to make. Ahead of the weekend, industry tracking suggested Brave would secure between $55 million and $60 million in domestic ticket sales, putting the film line with most of Pixar's recent debuts, but the film topped expectations. Brave knocked another animated family film, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, to number two after the film remained for two weeks in the top spot. The movie about a pack of escaped zoo animals took in $20 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters over the weekend, and the worldwide total since its debut rose to $157.6 million. HONEST ABE BATTLES VAMPIRES: In third place on domestic charts, thriller Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter rung up a solid $16.5 million. The movie imagines the 16th U.S. president fighting creatures of the night that are plotting to take over the country. Benjamin Walker stars as the axe-wielding Lincoln in the $70-million 3D production. The movie rung up another $8.1 million in international markets. Distributor 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp, had projected domestic sales would hit around $15 million for the weekend. In fourth place, Alien director Ridley Scott's movie, Prometheus, about explorers searching for the origins of mankind added $10 million in domestic sales to bring its global sales after three weeks to $108.5 million. Another new release, Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World pulled in $3.8 million, for a disappointing 10th place. The dark comedy starring Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley tells the story of a man who goes on a road trip as an asteroid speeds toward Earth. The film, which cost less than $10 million to make, played in 1,618 theaters, fewer than the 3,000-plus for the weekend's other big movies. The fifth spot went to Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman, which took in $8 million domestically to bring its four-week global total to $137 million. Madagascar 3 was produced by Dreamworks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. News Corp movie studio 20th Century Fox released Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Prometheus. Focus Features, a unit of Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures, released Seeking A Friend... Judge: Case on Stallone's Expendables knocked out Sylvester Stallone has knocked out a lawsuit by an author who accused the actor of copying his screenplay to make his popular 2010 movie The Expendables. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan dismissed the lawsuit filed last October by Marcus Webb, who had called the movie's screenplay "strikingly similar and in some places identical" to his own work, The Cordoba Caper. Rakoff said he will explain the reasoning behind his decision "in due course." Webb had sought damages for alleged copyright infringement, and a ban on infringement in any sequel by Stallone; co-author David Callaham; Nu Image Films, which produced the movie; and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, which distributed the movie in the United States. Lawyers for Webb did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tom Ferber, a lawyer for the defendants, declined to comment. Stallone's publicist did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the lawsuit, The Cordoba Caper told a story of elite, highly-trained mercenaries hired to defeat a General Garza, a rogue army general in a small Latin American country. Webb said the plot of The Expendables was much the same and also included a villain named General Garza. But the defendants said Webb wrote his screenplay after Callaham had produced three drafts of his own, which Stallone later revised. They also said the works differed fundamentally in “overall concept and feel.” In oral argument, Rakoff focused on whether the screenplays were “strikingly similar.” He appeared to disagree with a suggestion by Webb's lawyer that, while Garza may be the 34th-most common Hispanic last name, it was nonetheless notable that generals in both screenplays had the same names and positions. "There must be dozens of characters in movies, in plays, named Kelly or named, as you point out, Garcia, or the like," he said. "Is Garza really a name sufficiently (different)? It is not like it is either a made up name or a very unusual name, where you might — you know, if the name was Rumpelstiltskin." The Expendables was released on August 13, 2010, and also featured other older stars from action movies, like Jet Li and Arnold Schwarzenegger. A sequel, The Expendables 2, is scheduled for release on August 17. Source: Screen India
