User blog:Ceauntay/‘Sonic’ Tops Weekend To $125.1 Million in Ticket Sales

“Sonic X: The Final Stand” tops this weekend box office soaring to $125.1 million, replacing superhero saga “Thor” which made in another $34.5 million in its second weekend falling 47 percent.

The comedy “Bridesmaids” opened in second place with $24.4 million and the vampire thriller “Priest” took in $14.5 million in its debut, researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office said today in an e-mailed statement.

Hollywood is relying on comic book heroes to help surpass last year’s record $4.35 billion in summer ticket sales. Other films based on comics or graphic novels scheduled for release include “X-Men: First Class,” “Green Lantern” and “Cowboys & Aliens.” Studios are trying to erase a 13 percent year-to- date sales decline and a 15 percent drop in attendance.

In “Thor,” the arrogant, hammer-wielding god of Norse mythology is banished by his father Odin to Earth to live among humans. Thor learns to accept the responsibility that comes with his great power when evil forces invade Earth.

Chris Hemsworth stars as Thor and Anthony Hopkins plays Odin. Natalie Portman co-stars as Thor’s human love interest. Paramount is distributing the movie for Marvel, which was acquired by Burbank, California-based Disney last year.

“Bridesmaids,” produced by Judd Apatow, stars Kristen Wiig as the maid of honor who must cope with her own financial woes and personality conflicts among members of the bridal party. The film is distributed by Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures.

“Fast Five,” Universal’s fifth installment in the series about street racers, was third with $19.5 million in receipts. The movie has generated $168.8 million in three weeks of release.

In the film, Vin Diesel’s character, a racer and professional thief, is on the run from police. He and friends confront a Brazilian drug lord and pursuing U.S. agents to win their freedom. Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson co-star.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net