THINK LIKE A MAN TOPS US BOX OFFICE

Comedy Think Like A Man has knocked The Hunger Games off the top of the US box office chart.

Think Like A Man has surpassed box office expectations

Based on Steve Harvey's dating advice book, it debuted with $33m (£20.5m) U.S. and Canadian ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates, almost double what was expected.

Love story "The Lucky One" also exceeded forecasts to finish second with $22.8 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates. The two films pushed the blockbuster "Hunger Games" to third, ending its four-week streak at No. 1.

"Think Like a Man" is based on comedian Steve Harvey's best-selling, non-fiction relationship guide "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man."

The movie follows four couples trying to work out various issues and stars Gabrielle Union, Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Romany Malco, hip-hop singer Chris Brown and Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson. Harvey was executive producer and has a small role playing himself.

The film cost a modest $13 million to make, and received positive feedback in pre-release screenings, said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Corp's Sony Pictures studio.

"We definitely felt like we had a hit coming," Bruer said. Still, the weekend performance "exceeded everyone's expectations," he said.

Audiences gave "Think Like a Man" an "A" grade in polling by survey firm CinemaScore.

Think Like a Man

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US and Canada box office top 5

• 1. Think Like a Man - $33m (£20.5m)
• 2. The Lucky One - $22.8m (£14.2m)
• 3. The Hunger Games - $14.5m (£9m)
• 4. Chimpanzee - $10.2m (£6.3m)
• 5. The Three Stooges - $9.2m (£5.7m)

Sony's number one movie, Think Like A Man, cost $13m (£8m) to make, earning nearly that on its opening day alone.

Studio executives had expected the film to make about $17m (£10.5m) over the whole weekend.
"It was a wild ride. It just got better and better as the night went on Friday. Then to be up so much on Saturday," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony.

22 June 2012 (Sees Think Like a Man: UK Release Date)

Despite the film doing better than expected, overall Hollywood revenues fell for the second week in a row, down 5% from the same weekend last year.

Business is expected to improve early next month when Marvel superhero movie The Avengers is released over the first weekend in May.

Think Like A Man tops US box office