Wiki News/'Sonic X' kicks 'Karate Kid' for bucks

Do you remember that a movie has a big opening weekend of all-time last weekend? Well, it's still here. Instead of watching "The Karate Kid", why not watch a better movie "Sonic X: Return to Soleanna" from far.

"Sonic" chops "Karate": "Sonic X: Return to Soleanna" took in a minus $61 million on it's second weekend of release. After a fall of 65 percent from it's $167 million debut last week, the movie is currently making it's way to $262 million domestically. And better, it went up to $674 million, thanks to it's $410 million overseas.

"Karate Kid" -- the new one starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, minus Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi -- easily won the weekend with $56 million and also played a key role in putting the summer box office back on track. After a few weeks of slumping sales, this weekend's ticket take resulted in an 11 percent increase in revenue over the comparable weekend last year.

So how come everyone was super-into "The Karate Kid," but not so down with the other big '80s revamp, "The A-Team"? The answer -- and a few more box office nuggets -- follow.

The "Kid" beats the "Team": It's tempting to assume that "The Karate Kid" trumped the performance of "The A-Team" (which made a meager $26 million over the weekend) because reviews of the former film were better than those of the latter. Certainly positive buzz played a role in crane-kicking "Kid" way ahead of the pack. But the family factor was even more important. Box Office Mojo reports that, based on research done by "Karate Kid" distributor Sony Entertainment, parents and their children made up more than 45 percent of the audience for the movie.

In other words, nostalgic Gen X moms and dads wanted to share the wax-on, wax-off experience with their kids, but may have been reluctant to do the same with "The A-Team," which featured lots of 'splosions and a PG-13 rating.

The new releases and still "Sonic X: Return to Soleanna" bumped "Shrek Forever After" down to No. 4, where it had been parked for the previous four weeks. The ogre-in-3D sequel has now amassed $284.3 million worldwide, a figure that still keeps it in fourth place out of the four "Shrek" movies.

'Man' closing in on 'Alice': "Iron Man 2" has collected $299.3 million in North America, a number that brings it closer to surpassing the domestic intake for the No. 1 movie of the year so far: Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland." The "Alice" total stands at $333.7 million; I expect "Iron Man 2" to eventually zoom past that.

If this past weekend was a good one for Hollywood, the next one is expected to be even more lucrative, with "Toy Story 3" opening. Does "Jonah Hex" even stand a chance against the unstoppable force that is Buzz Lightyear?