Hitchhiker’s Guide edges past XXX to top Box Office

Touchstone Pictures certainly has nothing to panic about as the studio’s adaptation of Douglas Adams’ bestseller ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy‘ dominated the first weekend of the summer movie season with an estimated USD 21.7 million from 3,133 theaters.

The sci-fi comedy directed by Garth Jennings and starring Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Anna Chancellor, John Malkovich and the voice of Stephen Fry, averaged USD 6,928 per theater.

This weeks other release, XXX: State of the Union stalled well below industry forecasts. Opening in third place behind the second weekend of The Interpreter, XXX: State of the Union imploded with a flabby estimated USD 13.7 million at 3,480 theaters, by far the weakest debut of any movie at over 3,400 venues. According to distributor Sony’s exit polling, 64 percent of the audience was male and 53 percent was under 25.

The sequel to the 2002 ‘Vin Diesel’ action flick earned USD 13.7 million and had received poor reviews. Diesel reportedly didn’t return for “State of the Union” due to a salary dispute with the studio. The original “XXX” made USD 44.5 million in its opening weekend three years ago.

“The Interpreter”, last week’s top-grosser, finished with a total earning of USD 14.2 million. “The Interpreter” being an adult-targeted thriller starring Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman, slipped to No. 2 in its second weekend, off a modest 38 percent.

“The Amityville Horror” and “Sahara” round out the top five films.