Jackie Chan rules the box office

It looks as if audiences forgot all about Sarah Marshall and headed to the “Forbidden Kingdom.”

Jackie Chan and Jet Li sent Forgetting Sarah Marshall packing and took the top spot at the box office over the weekend with their The Forbidden Kingdom. Opening with $20.9 million, the first-ever pairing of the martial arts kings easily overtook the everywhere-you-look “Sarah Marshall” with its first week totals of $17.3 million. The Kristen Bell comedy couldn’t kick its way to the top.The martial arts genre has been suffering of late with Jackie Chan’s “Kingdom” being the first number one film of its type since 2004. What film was that you say? Why, it was Jet Li with Hero. It was good news for the box office in an off April weekend. The competition from the two top films pushed the weekend to a higher total than last year. Not sharing in that good news was Al Pacino’s 88 Minutes that opened in fourth with $6.8 million. Another heavily promoted film, Pacino’s thriller never caught on with audiences but one that came with its own pre-packaged audience was the ninth place film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Its $3.2 million came from church groups that rarely have a film to partake at the movies. Interesting note: with its one week earnings, “Expelled” has become the 26th-biggest grossing documentary of all time — yes in one week! The box office chart: 1. The Forbidden Kingdom, $20.9 million
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $17.3 million
3. Prom Night, $9.1 million
4. 88 Minutes, $6.8 million
5. Nim’s Island, $5.7 million
6. 21, $5.5 million
7. Street Kings, $4 million
8. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, $3.5 million
9. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, 3.2 million
10. Leatherheads, $3 million