‘10,000’ wins, but it’s not epic

At the box office, “10,000” was only half as mammoth as “300.”

Warner Bros.’ big-budget, prehistoric epic “10,000 BC” took in an estimated $35.7 million over the weekend, the studio said Sunday.

For the second year in a row, Warner Bros. dominated early March with a No. 1 movie -- although ticket sales for filmmaker Roland Emmerich’s adventure were a far cry from the record-setting $70.9 million that the Spartan battle epic “300” opened to in 2007, the best ever for the month.

Walt Disney Co.’s G-rated family comedy “College Road Trip” ranked a distant No. 2 for the weekend with an estimated $14 million.

The PG-13-rated “10,000 BC” fell shy of predictions from bullish box-office analysts of $40 million or more, although Warner Bros. and several market researchers had projected an opening closer to $30 million.

“We hit our mark,” said Dan Fellman, the studio’s president of domestic distribution. “It’s a big spectacle and a popcorn movie, and there is not a lot of strong product directly targeting our film in the next few weeks.”

Friday’s big release, for example, is sure to be 20th Century Fox’s “Horton Hears a Who,” an animated comedy aimed squarely at families.

Warner and its partner Legendary Pictures co-produced “10,000 BC” for about $125 million.

The low-profile cast is headed by Steven Strait as a hunter confronting saber-toothed tigers, mammoths and other dangers, and Camilla Belle as his love interest.

As expected, “10,000 BC” skewed male in its opening weekend, with 61% of the audience made up of men and boys. Crowds were evenly split between those over and under 25.

Based on recent trends for Hollywood spectacles and Emmerich’s record with effects-driven movies, “10,000 BC” could prove far more popular overseas, Fellman said. “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Godzilla,” all directed by Emmerich, did more than 60% of their business abroad.

This weekend’s results were encouraging on that front, as “10,000 BC” ranked No. 1 in 19 of the 20 foreign territories where it opened, totaling $25.3 million.

Despite bad reviews -- the website Rottentomatoes.com listed 73 slams and six endorsements as of Sunday -- and a mediocre “C” rating from moviegoers surveyed by CinemaScore, “10,000 BC” could hold up well enough to ultimately top $100 million in the U.S. and Canada, Fellman said.

School kids and college students will be on vacation in various parts of the country over the next few weeks, he noted, in a “rolling spring break” that should benefit the industry as a whole.

“College Road Trip,” which opened toward the lower end of expectations, drew crowds that were estimated at 65% families. The movie, starring Raven-Symone as a college-bound teenager and Martin Lawrence as her overprotective dad, was produced for about $30 million.

Disney was pleased by an 81% jump in business from Friday to Saturday, and by the movie’s “A-minus” CinemaScore rating from survey respondents in contrast to negative reviews from critics.

“As the word gets out to parents that this is one worth seeing, that only helps us,” said Chuck Viane, the studio’s distribution president.

Sony Pictures’ holdover political thriller “Vantage Point” remained solid in its third weekend, ranking No. 3 with $7.5 million. It has grossed $51.7 million.

Will Ferrell’s raunchy basketball comedy “Semi-Pro,” from beleaguered New Line Cinema, dropped 62% from its dismal opening weekend. It ranked fourth with $5.8 million.

This weekend’s other new wide release, Lions Gate Films’ British caper thriller “The Bank Job,” matched expectations with a $5.7-million haul, good enough for at least fifth place, depending on the final results.

Reviews have been strong for the R-rated picture, starring Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows, so it could hold up decently in the market and sell well on DVD.

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josh.friedman@latimes.com

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Box-office results

The prehistoric adventure “10,000 BC” was the weekend’s biggest ticket seller, but industrywide results were down from a year earlier for the fourth straight time. Last weekend’s top movie, the Will Ferrell comedy “Semi-Pro,” fell a sharp 62% in its second weekend. Focus Features’ “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” a comedy-drama starring Amy Adams and Frances McDormand, narrowly missed the top 10, grossing $2.5 million from a relatively modest 535 theaters. Preliminary results (in millions) in the U.S. and Canada, based on studio projections:

*--* Rank Movie 3-day gross Total Weeks -- (studio) (millions) (millions) 1 10,000 BC $35.7 $35.7 1 -- (Warner Bros.) 2 College Road Trip 14.0 14.0 1 -- (Disney) 3 Vantage Point 7.5 51.7 3 -- (Sony) 4 Semi-Pro 5.8 24.7 2 -- (New Line) 5 The Bank Job 5.7 5.7 1 -- (Lions Gate) 6 The Spiderwick Chronicles 4.8 61.7 4 -- (Paramount) 7 The Other Boleyn Girl 4.0 14.6 2 -- (Sony) 8 Jumper 3.8 72.5 4 -- (20th Century Fox) 9 Step Up 2 the Streets 3.0 53.0 4 -- (Disney) 10 Fool’s Gold 2.8 62.8 5 -- (Warner Bros.) *--*

Industry totals

*--* 3-day gross Change Year-to-date gross Change (in millions) from 2007 (in billions) from 2007 $109.0 -28.3% $1.67 +3.9% *--*

Note: A movie may be shown on more than one screen at each venue.

Source: Media by Numbers