{"id":11847,"date":"2012-11-20T08:50:24","date_gmt":"2012-11-20T05:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/lifestyle\/?p=11847"},"modified":"2012-11-20T08:50:24","modified_gmt":"2012-11-20T05:50:24","slug":"bollywood-gem-sneaks-into-us-box-office-top-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/lifestyle\/2012\/11\/20\/bollywood-gem-sneaks-into-us-box-office-top-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Bollywood gem sneaks into US box office top 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The final chapter of the blockbuster “Twilight” vampire franchise took the biggest bite out of North America’s weekend box office — while a Bollywood film made a rare showing in the top 10.<\/p>\n

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2,” the fifth and final installment of the wildly popular series, took $141.1 million, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.<\/p>\n

But almost more eye-catching was “Jab Tak Hai Jaan (Till My Last Breath),” a three-hour extravaganza which was the last film made by legendary Indian filmmaker Yash Chopra, the “king of romance,” before he died last month.<\/p>\n

The movie entered the top 10 at number 8, taking $1.3 million at the box office, a rare appearance for a Bollywood film in box office rankings usually dominated by Hollywood productions.<\/p>\n

“It is very rare indeed for a Bollywood film to make the Top 10,” said Exhibitor Relations expert Jeff Bock, while noting that they “routinely” make it into the top 20.<\/p>\n

“Bollywood does have a very loyal following in the US as almost every week there is a new Bollywood film in limited release, and every now and then they do open in the top 10,” he told AFP.<\/p>\n

The Hindi cinema legend, hailed for directing, producing and screen-writing some of India’s most-loved movies over several decades, died last month aged 80 after being admitted to hospital with dengue fever.<\/p>\n

Actors who had worked closely with Chopra, such as veteran Amitabh Bachchan and heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan, attended a private funeral at a crematorium in the city.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was quick to honor the late director on Sunday night, describing him as “an icon of Indian cinema” who would be remembered by millions.<\/p>\n

Bock added that the Indian film benefited from a pre-Thanksgiving lull, ahead of the long US holiday weekend.<\/p>\n

“There was a relative calm before the storm of films being released this Thanksgiving holiday. The box office has been set ablaze, but it’s really just a handful of films doing all the business,” he said.<\/p>\n

The box office top spot was, as expected, taken by the last “Twilight” movie. The previous four films, based on novels by Stephenie Meyer and starting in 2008, earned a colossal $2.4 billion altogether.<\/p>\n

In second place was the new James Bond movie “Skyfall,” last week’s top earner, which earned an estimated $41.1 million, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.<\/p>\n

Third place went to the debut of the Steven Spielberg film “Lincoln,” starring Daniel Day Lewis in the role of America’s assassinated 16th president, which had $21 million in ticket sales.<\/p>\n

“Wreck-It Ralph,” the animated Disney film about a video game villain with dreams of becoming a hero, earned $18.6 million for fourth place.<\/p>\n

Fifth went to the movie “Flight,” a star vehicle for Denzel Washington, who plays a crash-landing pilot with substance abuse problems. It pulled in $8.8 million.<\/p>\n