Fox at no. 1 spot for second year

Fox at no. 1 spot for second year

MUMBAI: For the second year in succession, 20th Century Fox has clung on to the top position in domestic market box-office share.

Last year, Warner Bros bagged both summer and annual bragging rights on the strength of a killer second half. But Fox boasts of an impressive summer lineup this year. On that ground, it will be interesting to watch the distribution titans clash at the b-o.

Meanwhile, Warners took a percentage point off Fox‘s lead last weekend by amassing $64.2 million from their latest release Clash of the Titans. Till Sunday last, Fox roped in $751 million in year-to-date box-office to take a 26 per cent market share. Warner is on the second spot with $535 million it amassed in 2010 with a 19 per cent share.

Largely, Fox built its lead on the back of the James Cameron 3D film Avatar that has amassed $458 million of its $743 million domestic haul since 1 January.

Fox‘s swimsuit-season tentpoles include a big-screen adaptation of The A-Team set to release on 11 June and the Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz starrer Knight & Day releasing on 25 June and sci-fi action sequel Predators which unspools on 9 July.

Last year, Warners overtook Fox with second-half successes including a $302 million run by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Its latest summer slate offers up at least three big films like Sex & the City 2 (27 May), comics-inspired action fantasy Jonah Hex (18 June) and Leonardo DiCaprio starrer Inception (16 July).