14 Feb – Justin Bieber came on strong on Friday with his biopic debut "Never Say Never" but the Bieber fever did not burn as hot to take the North America's weekend box office crown from defending champion, Adam Sandler with his latest rom-com "Just Go With It". Nipping on both Bieber and Sandler's heels were the hefty garden gnomes of "Gnomeo and Juliet", reported Box Office Mojo for the weekend just gone (10-13 Feb).
"Just Go With It" was below par for an Adam Sandler franchise, but nonetheless marked his 11th No. 1 movie as it draws an estimated US$31 million and expected to dominate Valentine's Monday and the rest of the weekdays.
The movie tracker site also reports that Justin Bieber's rabid fan base translated to a big start for the 16-year-old's biography/3D concert movie which takes its title from "The Karate Kid" remake, "Never Say Never" and it ranked first on Friday but third on Saturday and Sunday for an overall second place weekend finish, albeit grossing more than Michael Jackson's "This Is It" first weekend opening.
The first family movie since Christmas, "Gnomeo and Juliet", landed with a relatively strong estimated US$25.5 million surpassing "Coraline"'s US$16.8 million as the biggest animated opening ever for the month of February (and January) and loomed over "Yogi Bear"'s US$16.4 million launch.
"Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" is scheduled for regional release on 14 April while "Just Go With It" is now showing in Singapore and scheduled for a 31 March release in Malaysia.
On the other hand, "Gnomeo and Juliet" opens in Singapore 3 March while a Malaysian release will not happen, according to the film distributor.
Meanwhile in Malaysia, Eric Tsang and two of his "I Love Hong Kong" co-stars, Kiki Sheung and Mag Lam appeared at several Klang Valley cinemas over the weekend much to the delight of surprised audiences, as part of an impromptu visit to promote "I Love Hong Kong".
Other new releases and sneak shows over the weekend in Malaysia include "No Strings Attached", "Patiala House", "Payanam", "Thambikkottai", "What Women Want" and "Sini Ada Hantu".
New releases and sneak shows in Singapore over the weekend include "No Strings Attached", "What Women Want", "The Mechanic", "The King's Speech", "Winter's Bone", "Just Go With It", "Under The Hawthorn Tree", "The Rite" and "Black Swan".