Wolverine Rules Box Office

Goodbye weepy winter films, and hello summer. X-Men Origins: Wolverine took in a huge box office haul this weekend and positioned itself as number one nearly everywhere internationally. The Hugh Jackman-fronted film took in $87 million in the U.S. and nearly $170 million worldwide, and marks the highest premiere weekend all year. The Lost Angeles Times notes that the film played particularly well with female audiences, who represented 47 percent of ticket buyers. Matthew McConaughey’s latest, the critically-reviled Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, took in a meager-by-comparison $15.3 million. After Wolverine leaked to the Internet in early April, Fox was anticipating a much smaller take, but its huge bow should assuage studio fears that Internet piracy deters audiences.