Weekend Box Office, Dolphin Tale | featured news

Boxing robots are the undisputed champions at the weekend box office. According to studio estimates Sunday, Hugh Jackman’s “Real Steel,” set in a near-future when robot fighters have replaced humans in the ring, debuted at No. 1 with $27.3 million. “Real Steel” added $22.1 million overseas for a worldwide total of $49.4 million. The movie casts Jackman as a former boxer reluctantly thrown together with his young son as they turn a junkyard robot into a world-class contender.

Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros.' inspirational Dolphin Tale took the No. 1 spot in its second weekend with $14.2 million, wresting the box office crown from fellow family pic The Lion King. Dolphin Tale fell only 27 percent--proving again the clout of an A+ CinemaScore—and ended the weekend with a domestic cume of $37.5 million. The movie's staying power is a victory for Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove's Alcon, the same production company behind The Blind Side, another film that played to both general moviegoers and faith-based audiences.

Jaws dropped in Hollywood on Sunday: For the second weekend in a row, a 17-year-old movie, “The Lion King,” was No. 1 at the North American box office. That animated film, re-released by Walt Disney Studios in 3-D, took in an estimated $22 million for a two-week total of $61.7 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles ticketing statistics.