Hellboy II Takes Box Office Crown

In a battle of unconventional superheroes, Hellboy II: The Golden Army edged out Hancock to win the weekend. Hellboy brought in $35.9 million and became the third comic-book based movie to hold the no. 1 spot, following Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk.  A fourth comic property, Wanted nearly made it but was beaten by Pixar’s WALL-E when those films opened.

Will Smith vehicle Hancock slipped into second place with $33 million. It’s still cementing Smith’s midsummer legend though, pulling in an impressive $165 million in just 12 days. Hellboy’s reign at the top will be a brief one though, as the fourth comic book property to take no.1 will certainly be The Dark Knight.

Propelled by positive reviews, feverish anticipation and publicity from Heath Ledger’s untimely death The Dark Knight has become the hottest ticket of the summer. Experts are anticipating an opening easily in the $130 million neighborhood. It’s no wonder movie producers are descending on events like San Diego Comic Con hoping to snag the next big comic property.

Other sci fi flicks that opened this past weekend included Brendan Fraser’s latest, Journey to the Center of the Earth. As one of the more family friendly films out now, it opened in third with a respectable $20.6 million.

Last and most certainly least was Eddie Murphy’s newest, Meet Dave. In this Murphy stars as a robotic spaceship and its miniature captain. This one is on the fast track to Flop City opening with just $5.3 million. That’s the lowest opening for Murphy since his last try at mixing comedy and space travel, The Adventures of Pluto Nash.

Image: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Dark Horse Entertainment, Universal Pictures, 2008