Showtimes
   
News

Cinema crowds clamour for "Prince Caspian"


The queue for "Prince Caspian" at GSC One Utama last weekend when Cinema Online paid a casual visit.
21 May – Mirroring its U.S. weekend takings, "Prince Caspian" has managed to claim the throne at the local box office for the weekend just gone. While it is hardly a surprise that the film did well in its first week on release, it may not have the same staying power that its predecessor "Iron Man" has proven it possesses.

The North American collection for "Prince Caspian" so far stands at US$55 million for its opening weekend. While it is sizeable, it is a paltry sum compared to crowd-pleaser "Iron Man", which grossed nearly twice that during its opening weekend and has to date registered a collection of US$430 million worldwide.

Also, as a sequel in the franchise, "Prince Caspian" is basically doomed to under-perform compared to the first Narnia film, as sequels often tend to do. However, the creatures and cretins of Narnia are safely at the top with 102 prints in release, but they shouldn't get too comfortable at the top yet – Old man Indiana Jones and "The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" comes out this weekend and looks to whip the competition.

Among the crowd bustling for tickets for the fantasy epic was none other than local thespian Ako Mustafa, who was spotted purchasing Gold Glass tickets at GSC 1 Utama on Thursday to watch "Prince Caspian" with his family. "I am really excited to catch this much-awaited sequel," he told Cinema Online.

Rounding out the top three is disappointing Wachowski brothers' manga-inspired "Speed Racer", which never saw the view from the top spot and slides down one place to settle at No.3. Perhaps the film's less-than-impressive performance at the box office is testament to the fact that some films can't stay too true to their sources, or they risk ending up to "kiddy".

The high rollers Hollywood rom-com "What Happens In Vegas" and Hong Kong rib-tickler "My Wife Is A Gambling Maestro" stuck together at fourth and fifth place respectively, with both films staying put at the same positions they held last weekend. Dropping three places to the sixth slot is Tamil actioner "Kuruvi", while Owen Wilson's slapstick comedy "Drillbit Taylor" enters the top ten in its first week in general release at No.7, up four spots from eleventh place when it was on sneaks the previous weekend.

"I'm the only kid who can really act in the whole film!" – a scene from "Prince Caspian"
Ako Mustafa and his favourite magazine
Jet and Jackie continue to slowly kung fu their way down the top ten, falling two places to No.8 with "Forbidden Kingdom", now in its fifth week of release. Indonesian horror throwback "Beranak Dalam Kubur" makes a screamingly respectable entry at ninth place, while oddball local romantic comedy "Cinta U-Turn" slides to the bottom from the seventh slot.

As blockbuster season is now in full swing, cinemas are expected to see more traffic for the next few months, so expect a top ten full of the usual blockbuster suspects.

Related articles:
"Narnia: Prince Caspian" [review] [showtimes] [forum]
"Iron Man" [review] [showtimes] [forum]
"Speed Racer" [review] [showtimes] [forum]
"What Happens In Vegas" [review] [showtimes] [forum]
"My Wife Is A Gambling Maestro" [review] [showtimes] [forum]
"Beranak Dalam Kubur" [review][showtimes]
"Drillbit Taylor" [review] [showtimes]
"Kuruvi" [review] [showtimes] [forum]
"Cinta U-Turn" [review] [showtimes]
"Forbidden Kingdom" [review] [showtimes] [forum]
"Indiana Jones" [review] [showtimes] [forum]


Latest News:
See All News
Showtimes