UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING TAKES BIG BITE OF BOX OFFICE

Underworld: Awakening sank its teeth into the necks of box office pundits over the weekend as the vampire flick, starring Kate Beckinsale, opened with $25.3 million, far ahead of most of their predictions. It was helped by 3D and IMAX surcharges — $3.8 million of its total came from IMAX venues. Landing in second place was the George Lucas-produced Red Tails, with $18.8 million. (Most forecasts had it earning around $10 million.) It received an “A” grade from moviegoers polled by Cinemascore. Last weekend’s winner, Contraband, starring Mark Wahlberg, fell 52 percent to third place with $12 million. However, the poorly reviewed Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, flopped as it expanded nationwide, earning $10.1 million, to place fourth. And the female action flick Haywire lived up to its name as it debuted in sixth place — slightly above forecasts but with just $8.4 million.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):
1. Underworld Awakening, Sony, $25,306,725 (New); 2. Red Tails, 20th Century Fox, $18,782,154 (New); 3. Contraband, Universal, $12,039,605, 2 Wks. ($45,937,525); 4. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Warner Bros., $10,045,332, 5 Wks. ($10,737,239); 5. Beauty and the Beast, Disney, $8,779,676, 2 Wks. ($33,588,056); 6. Haywire, Relativity Media, $8,425,370 (New); 7. Joyful Noise, Warner Bros., $5,917,437, 2 Wks. ($21,745,419); 8. Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, Paramount, $5,554,254, 6 Wks. ($197,363,441); 9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Warner Bros., $4,515,497, 6 Wks. ($178,321,726); 10. The Iron Lady, Weinstein Co. $3,684,279, 4 Wks. ($12,585,958).