
(Reuters) - Natalie Portman, already using high during awards season with "Black Swan," took the No. 1 spot on the North American field office on Sunday for the primary time in five years together with her romantic comedy debut.
"No Strings Hooked up," wherein she co-stars with Ashton Kutcher, sold about $20.three million value of tickets across the United States and Canada in the course of the three days beginning January 21, distributor Paramount Photos said.
The opening exceeded the modest expectations of the Viacom Inc unit, which mentioned the movie value just $25 million to make. Portman and Kutcher play buddies who enter right into a sexual relationship with the titular proviso. Problems ensue.
Paramount said ladies accounted for 70 p.c of the audience, and patrons aged underneath 25 gave it the very best opinions in exit polls. Paramount said it was unattainable to inform how the "Black Swan" buzz helped, but "every little thing helps," noted the studio's distribution president Don Harris.
The film was directed by "Ghostbusters" veteran Ivan Reitman who has not had a giant hit since "Six Days, Seven Nights" in 1998. Kutcher's final massive film was "What Happens in Vegas," a 2008 romantic comedy with Cameron Diaz. Portman, 29, final led the field office in March 2006 when the thriller "V For Vendetta" grossed $26 million during its first weekend.
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Final weekend's champion, Columbia Footage' 3D comedian-e-book adaptation "The Green Hornet," slipped to No. 2 with $18.1 million. "The Dilemma," a Common Footage romantic comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, was additionally down one, to No. three, with $9.7 million in its second weekend. Their respective 10-day totals stand at $63.4 million and $33.four million.
"No Strings Connected" was the weekend's solely new huge launch, in line with January's status as a graveyard for brand new films. A lot of the main focus is on the awards-season contenders, 4 of which were in the top 10.
That features "Black Swan," wherein Portman plays an unhinged ballerina. The Fox Searchlight melodrama slipped one to No. 6 with $6.2 million. It has earned $83.6 million to this point, and is poised for further positive aspects as the awards season enters the house stretch. Portman has won most of the bellwether awards leading as much as Tuesday's announcement of the Academy Award nominations.
Elsewhere, Weinstein Co's royals drama "The King's Speech" was regular at No. four with $9.2 million. The movie's Oscar possibilities received a shock increase on Saturday when it was named finest picture by the Producers Guild of America, a gaggle whose picks normally go on to win the highest Oscar. Its victory weakened the awards-season dominance of "The Social Community," which has just come out on DVD.
Paramount's hit Western remake "True Grit," largely neglected throughout awards season, fell two to No. 5 with $8 million; its whole stands at $138.6 million, easily a personal finest for filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen.
"The Fighter," additionally released by Paramount, rose two to No. 7 with $4.5 million; the boxing drama, buoyed by approval for Christian Bale's supporting turn as a boxer-turned-crackhead, has earned $73 million to date.
Columbia Footage is a unit of Sony Corp. Universal Footage, a unit of Basic Electrical Co's NBC Universal. Weinstein Co is privately held. Fox Searchlight is a unit of Information Corp.
Photos of Natalie Portman







