'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' Rips Off North American Box Office

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" has livened up to its expectation at the North American box office over the weekend. Projected to nab more than $70 million upon its release on Friday, May 1, the Gavin Hood-directed film has torn its way to the top spot at the ticket sales chart with $85.1 million after three days of screening at 4,099 sites.

Kicking off the summer season, the action fantasy movie starring Hugh Jackman opened lower than "X-Men: The Last Stand" which collected as much as $102.8 million when it was debuted in 2006. If ticket price inflation is taken into consideration, it also scored lower than 2003's "X2: X-Men United". However, it did pull in a higher number than the original "X-Men".

While scoring a relatively big bow over the weekend, "Wolverine" landed on the 15th slot among the top opening movies in summer, following "Spider-Man 2", "The Matrix Reloaded" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". Among the summer kick-offs, this "X-Men" spin-off ranked behind "Spider-Man 3", "Spider-Man" and "Iron Man".

"Wolverine" aside, "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" came in second at the box office. The Matthew McConaughey-starring comedy debuted with $15.4 million. The estimated bow marked the least-attended start of all McConaughey romantic comedies, which included "Fool's Gold", "Failure to Launch", "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "The Wedding Planner".

Drama thriller "Obsessed" has dropped to the third slot. With a 57.9% decline in sales, the Screen Gems film toplined by Idris Elba, Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter hauled in another $12.1 million to the total of $46.8 million. "17 Again", in the meantime, slipped to the fourth place this weekend, garnering $6.4 million. The last place of the top five belonged to "Monsters vs. Aliens", which earned $5.8 million in its sixth week in theaters.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for May 1 - 3:

1. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" - $85.1 million
2. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" - $15.4 million
3. "Obsessed" - $12.1 million
4. "17 Again" - $6.4 million
5. "Monsters vs. Aliens" - $5.8 million
6. "The Soloist" - $5.7 million
7. "Earth" - $4.3 million
8. "Hannah Montana: The Movie" - $4.2 million
9. "Fighting" - $4 million
10. "State of Play" - $3.7 million