Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- “Puss in Boots,” DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.’s spinoff from its “Shrek” movies, was the top film at U.S. and Canadian theaters for a second week, taking in $33.1 million in ticket sales.
The Ben Stiller comedy “Tower Heist” opened as the No. 2 film, with $24 million in receipts for Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures, researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office said today in an e-mailed statement.
“This was a tough weekend for everyone except for the kittie,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office division of Hollywood.com, said in a telephone interview. “’Puss in Boots’ was the only movie that performed beyond expectations. This proves the family audience is ready and willing to go to the movies while everyone else is doing other things.”
The PG-rated, animated action-adventure “Puss,” which opened last week with sales of $34.1 million, follows the adventures of the sword-wielding cat voiced by Antonio Banderas.
“Puss” is chasing the success of DreamWorks’ “Shrek” series, the latest of which, “Shrek Forever After” opened in May 2010 and generated global sales of $752.6 million, according to industry tracker Box Office Mojo. The three previous “Shrek” films had combined worldwide ticket receipts of $2.2 billion, according to Box Office Mojo.
Galifianakis, Thornton
The cast of voices also includes Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Bob Thornton.
In “Tower Heist,” Stiller plays the manager of an upscale residential tower in New York where a Wall Street executive is under house arrest for stealing $2 billion from investors. The manager and fellow employees try to rob his swanky penthouse after learning the theft included their pensions. The cast includes Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Tea Leoni and Alan Alda.
“A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” the third film in the stoner comedy series from Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros., debuted in third place, generating $13 million. In the latest installment, the duo search New York City for the perfect Christmas tree. John Cho and Kal Penn star. As in the previous films, Neil Patrick Harris appears as himself. The first two movies, made for a combined $21 million, took in $67.4 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Home Video
The low-budget horror movie “Paranormal Activity 3,” from Paramount Pictures, fell to fourth place from second with $8.5 million in sales in its third weekend.
“Paranormal Activity 3” is a prequel to the first two films, explaining the origins of the supernatural terror that haunts two sisters and their families. The three films had generated $510.7 million for Paramount as of Nov. 2. The combined production budgets for the three movies was about $5 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Like the other movies, the third installment is presented as footage from home-video cameras set up by the family to capture strange occurrences. The movie features Sprague Grayden and Katie Featherston.
The sci-fi thriller “In Time,” from News Corp.’s Twentieth Century Fox, was fifth with sales of $7.7 million. The movie, featuring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, is set in a world where time can be bought and sold to extend or shorten life. Timberlake’s character goes on the run after being falsely accused of stealing a century’s worth of time.
Weekend revenue for the top 12 films fell 27 percent to $103.6 million from a year earlier, Hollywood.com said. Domestic box-office receipts this year have declined 4 percent to $8.66 billion. Attendance is down 4.8 percent.
The amounts below are based on actual ticket sales for Nov. 4 through yesterday.
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