Another superhero movie has struck box-office gold this summer.
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" opened No. 1 at the weekend box office, pulling in $35.9 million and knocking Will Smith's "Hancock" from the top spot, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Featuring a red-skinned hero, Universal Pictures' "Hellboy" joins fellow superhero flicks "Hancock," "The Incredible Hulk" and "Iron Man" as among the most successful films of the summer.
"Right now, superhero movies are doing very well. But I think what brought this to light is that this is not just a superhero, it's fantasy," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of domestic distribution. "There's a hit in this franchise and hopefully there will be more."
Although slipping to the No. 2 spot, "Hancock" remained a strong contender, pulling in an estimated $33 million in its second weekend in theaters. The Sony Pictures film, starring Smith as an alcoholic, hot-tempered superhero, has amassed $165 million domestically and $345.2 million worldwide.
The Warner Bros. adventure "Journey to the Center of the Earth" surpassed expectations with $20.6 million on its opening weekend, coming in third.
"Journey" was the widest release yet in digital 3-D despite Hollywood's struggle to roll out the format quickly.
The movie, starring Brendan Fraser and adapted from the classic Jules Verne novel, was originally called "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" but was retitled when it became clear that the achingly slow 3-D rollout meant it would have to be shown in 2-D as well to saturate the market.
Although 3-D theaters accounted for about one-third of the theaters where the movie was played, about 60% of the film's total gross came from 3-D screenings, said Michael V. Lewis, chief executive of RealD, one of the companies that upgrades theaters to 3-D.
"At the end of the day, people vote with their wallets," Lewis said. "The arrow is moving in the right direction."
Billed as the first fictional, live-action feature shot entirely in digital 3-D, "Journey" was considered a box-office test. Recent 3-D features have all been animated or concert movies, but directors including James Cameron are working on a variety of live-action projects in the format.
After a 3-D "Journey" screening Saturday night at the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles, moviegoers said they enjoyed the film and thought the format enhanced the experience.
