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"Hunger Games" falls in Asia


(Left) Jennifer Lawrence and (right) Liam Hemsworth sharing a moment as Katniss and Gale respectively.

3 Apr – Box office phenomenon "The Hunger Games" continues to reign in the top spot in the US weekend box office (29 Mar – 1 Apr) with a total of $248.4 million. This is not surprising, considering the fairly unimpressive fantasy offerings of "Wrath Of The Titans" and "Mirror Mirror" as well as America's penchant for heroes with the weight of the world on their backs (note: "Harry Potter"). Fortunately for Jonathan Liebesman, he did good to recast Sam Worthington in the lead in the sequel to Louis Leterrier's lacklustre fantasy action remake, for the star ended up roping in both male and female audiences. 2012's first Snow White movie "Mirror Mirror" opened third, and its underperformance can be credited to its cheesy script and the lack of Tarsem Singh's trademark visuals that glorified the "Immortals". The movie stars Lily Collins as Snow White, a young man who is determined to win back her kingdom from Queen Clementianna (Julia Roberts) and the heart of Prince Andrew Alcott (Armie Hammer).

However, it seemed that the hype for "The Hunger Games" is dying in Malaysia, as the movie's more family-friendly approach is trampled on by Jonathan Liebesman's "Wrath Of The Titans". Despite the shared P13 ratings, the latter definitely boasts more thrills and violence, not to mention IMAX screenings. The action fantasy picks up a decade after "Clash Of The Titans", with Sam Worthington reprising his role as Perseus, a demigod who has chosen to live as a fisherman with his son, Helius. When his father Zeus (Liam Neeson) is captured by Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Ares (Edgar Ramirez), Perseus is forced to go into battle once more to save his father and restore chaos to the land. Meanwhile, the highly-anticipated Tamil movie "3" opens second due to the viral marketing of its hit song "Kolaveri Di" online, leaving "The Hunger Games" to round out the top three.

Something is definitely stirring in the waters for "Wrath Of The Titans" for the movie also debuted in first place in Singapore, and made the record there for being the movie with the highest grossing weekend box office openings this year. "The Hunger Games" dipped to second while Zhang Yimou's Golden Globe-nominee, "The Flowers Of War", opened in third place. Academy Award-winner Christian Bale stars in the movie as John Miller, a mortician-turned-priest who provides refuge to a group of women during the famed "Rape of Nanjing".

In Malaysia, other new releases over the weekend were "Love Tactics", "The Soul Of Bread" and "Jangan Pandang-Pandang".

On the other hand, other releases in Singapore were, "Jangan Pandang-Pandang", "War Of The Arrows", "This Must Be The Place", "The Rabbi's Cat", "Bel Ami", "ATM" and "Mirror Mirror".

Box office takings for the weekend just gone (29 March - 01 April 2012)
Malaysia
1) Wrath Of The Titans
2) 3
3) The Hunger Games
4) Jangan Pandang-Pandang
5) Mirror Mirror
6) The Vow
7) John Carter
8) Marrying Mr.Perfect
9) One For The Money
10) Nightfall
Singapore
1) Wrath of the Titans
2) The Hunger Games
3) Flowers of War
4) John Carter
5) ATM
6) Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
7) The Lorax
8) The Woman in Black
9) Beauty and the beast 3D
10) Sleeping Beauty






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