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Summary Real Steel strutted past at the box office this weekend, holding onto its No.1 spot.
The film about futuristic robot boxing starring Hugh Jackman took in $16.3 million, bringing its domestic total to $51.7 million, according to an estimate from distributor Walt Disney Pictures. Sales were off 40% from the first weekend, a relatively modest decline for an action movie.Footloose was a close second at $16.1 million, despite pre-release audience surveys that had indicated it would come out on top.Overall, it was a weak weekend at the box office. Ticket sales were down 32% compared with the same weekend in 2010. And revenue for 2011 is off about 4%, while attendance has fallen roughly 6% since last year.Its obvious by looking at the weekend numbers that box office is relatively soft right now, said Nikki Rocco, president of domestic distribution for Universal Pictures, which released The Thing. North American moviegoers are preoccupied. I just dont know what theyre preoccupied with.The original Footloose, released in 1984 and starring Kevin Bacon as a rebellious teenager seeking to overturn a dance ban in his small town, grossed more than $80 million worldwide — adjusted for inflation, that would equal $174 million today. Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the new Footloose, acknowledged that its unlikely the 2011 incarnation will reach the same box office heights.
