'300' becomes 2007's 1st blockbuster
:: Lena Headey, from left, Andrew Tiernan, director Zack Snyder, novelist Frank Miller, David Wenham, Gerard Butler, and Rodrigo Santoro pose together at the premiere of ''300'' in Los Angeles, Monday, March 5, 2007 ::
The ancient battle of Thermopylae was the stuff of 2007's first certified blockbuster as the bloody action tale "300" debuted with ticket sales of $70 million over its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The number of movie-goers for the Warner Bros. epic "300" outnumbered crowds for the rest of the top-10 movies combined. If the estimate holds when final numbers are released Monday, "300" would break the record for best March debut ever, topping the $68 million haul for "Ice Age: The Meltdown" last year.
"300," adapted from Frank Miller's graphic novel, stars Gerard Butler as Leonidas, king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, who leads his vastly outnumbered men against the Persian invaders.
Directed by Zack Snyder ("Dawn of the Dead"), "300" presents the actors against digitally created backgrounds to re-create the look of Miller's graphic novel, a technique similar to that used on the movie adaptation of Miller's "Sin City."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "300," $70 million.
2. "Wild Hogs," $28 million.
3. "Bridge to Terabithia," $6.9 million.
4. "Ghost Rider," $6.8 million.
5. "Zodiac," $6.77 million.
6. "The Number 23," $4.33 million.
7. "Norbit," $4.3 million.
8. "Music and Lyrics," $3.8 million.
9. "Breach, $2.6 million.
10. "Amazing Grace," $2.5 million.
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