英语文摘:"Thor" holds on to top place for 2nd weekend

LOS ANGELES, May 15 (Xinhua) -- This weekend tunes out to be a time when the superhero from "Thor" held on to his crown with a big hammer, grossing a total of 100 million dollars in sales in North America, the box office authority reported on Sunday.

Helped by its word of mouth and big family turnout during daytime Saturday, the Paramount superhero drama is on track to fetch 34.5 million dollars in movie theaters across the United States and Canada, bringing its 10 day total to 119.3 million dollars. The weekend's showing represents a mere 48 percent decrease from the previous week, which is well within the expectations by the executives.

Elsewhere in the international market, the Norse god also fares well. It has grossed a total of 225 million dollars in ticket stub sales across 60 territories.

Sitting in the second place is "Bridesmaids," an R-rated comedy targeting female audiences which stars a batch of newcomers. The Universal release is estimated to garner 24.4 million dollars from 2,918 locations, a feat "well above projections," industry analysts Paul Degerabedian said.

The majority of the moviegoers are women, who accounted for 67 percent, and more than half are audience aged 30 or older, according to the studio.

The debut won positive reviews from critics and audience as well. CinemaScore gave it a "B+" while 91 percent of the Rotten Tomatoes' 140 critics liked the film.

Jill Clayburgh, who played the heroine's mother in the film, made her final cinematic appearance before she died from leukemia in November 2010.

"Fast Five," the latest installment from the "Fast & Furious" franchise was still drawing big, with a 19.5 million dollar showing this weekend and a BB-week record of 168.8 million dollars. The street racing turned heist film, directed by Justin Lin, has accumulated a total of 440.5 million dollars in movie stub sales both in North America and abroad.

"Priest (3-D)"opened in the third place with a 14.5 million dollar weekend for Sony/Screen Gems. The apocalyptic horror film, which targets young male audience, is adapted from a popular graphic novel series written by Min-Woo Hyung.

Rounding out the 10 most popular movies during the Friday- Sunday period are:

"Rio" (8 million dollars), "Jumping The Broom" (7.3 million dollars),"Something Borrowed"(7 million dollars), "Water For Elephants"(4.1 million dollars), "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family" (2.2 million dollars) and "Soul Surfer"(1.8 million dollars).