Wolverine’s claws have been clipped. The hard-working X-Men character was No. 1 at North American theaters over the weekend, with ticket sales of about $55 million, but 20th Century Fox had hoped “The Wolverine†- the sixth installment in this superhero franchise - would take in at least 15 percent more. (Some box office analysts had even predicted an opening-weekend total of $75 million to $85 million.) Fox, which said it spent about $120 million to make the movie, not including marketing costs, hopes that strong interest overseas will make up for the soft reception in the United States and Canada, where audiences are increasingly expressing their fatigue with Hollywood’s recycled formulas by staying home.
“The Wolverine,†which notably received much better reviews than the more commercially successful “X-Men Origins: Wolverine†did in 2009, was the only new big-budget movie to arrive over the weekend; second place went to “The Conjuring†(Warner Brothers), which took in a sturdy $22.1 million, for a two-week total of $83.9 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box office data. “Despicable Me 2†(Universal Pictures) chugged away in third place, selling about $16 million in tickets, for a four-week domestic total of $306.4 million.
Among limited-release films, Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine†(Sony Pictures Classics) got off to a stellar start on six screens, taking in about $613,000 - one of the best art house results of the year.
