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12
December 2006
Mel
Gibson Epic Is Box
Office
Winner
Mel
Gibson's
Mayan dialect film
Apocalypto has grabbed
the top spot at the US
box office.
The
epic, which has faced
criticism from Mayan
groups, took an
estimated $14.2m
(£7.3m) in its
first
weekend.
There
had been a feeling in
Hollywood that Mel
Gibson had harmed his
career following
anti-Semitic comments he
made during his
drink-driving
arrest.
But
Chuck Viane, of
distributor Disney,
said: "The movie
obviously succeeds on
its own
level."
He
added: "I think people
probably are a bit on
the surprised side
around town that it's
number one. Two months
ago, nobody would have
bet on that."
Apocalypto,
which shows the conquest
of one Central American
tribe by an aggressive
neighbour, has been
criticised by some
groups for portraying
the ancient cultures as
savages.
The
film's strong opening is
dwarfed in comparison to
Gibson's last effort,
The Passion of the
Christ, which made
$83.8m (£42.9m) in
its first
weekend.
Festive
romantic comedy The
Holiday came in second
place in the North
American chart with
$13.5m
(£7m).
Previous
chart-topper Happy Feet
was in third place with
$12.7m (£6.5m),
staying ahead of James
Bond's Casino Royale
which took $8.8m
(£4.5m).
Violent
thriller Blood Diamond,
starring Leonardo
DiCaprio, rounded out
the top five, earning an
estimated $8.5m
(£4.35m) over the
weekend.
Sales
for the weekend were
down from a year ago,
with the top 12 films
grossing $86.7m
(£44.35m) this
weekend, compared with
$115.8m (£59.2m) a
year before.
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