2012 Takes in $65.2 Million in U.S. Over the Weekend

Perhaps it’s that "2012," the movie about the end of the world, matches so exactly the general feelings in the U.S. right now. Perhaps it’s simply a nice diversion from reality. In any event, "2012" took in $65.2 million at the box office in its opening weekend in the U.S. and earned $230.4 million worldwide. The film, which stars John Cusack, Amand Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt and Danny Glover, among others, is about the end of the world, as predicted by the Mayan calendar millennia ago.

While just about anything directed by Roland Emmerich, who also produced "Independence Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow," is sure to be exciting and appeal to the masses, the furor the movie has caused is impressive. Already, the cable television network FX has paid for the television rights to the film. Appropriately enough, the network plans to release the movie on TV at the beginning of 2012. In the process, FX also acquired the rights to another Sony-produced film, "Zombieland," making it quite the destination for television releases of such movies. As a note, the aforementioned films directed by Emmerich were also purchased by FX.

And while "2012" took the top earner spot over the weekend, there were others that say some pretty good numbers, including "Disney’s a Christmas Carol," which grossed over $22 million and "Precious," which did just under $6 million for the weekend. Rounding out the top 5 were "The Men Who Stare at Goats" ($5.8 million) and "Michael Jackson’s This Is It" ($5 million).