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The Purge purges the US box office

The microbudget horror-thriller, The Purge, beat big budget pictures to the top of the US box office with $36.4 million. Produced by the Jason Blum, the producer behind Paranormal Activity franchise and Insidious, the film cost only $3 million to make.

Starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, The Purge is set in the year 2022, where a crime is permitted for 12-hour time period, in which the unemployed and desperate vent their negative emotions at the society.

Tentpole Fast and Furious continued to thrill and held the second spot with $19.8 million in its third weekend. The actioner total cume to date is $202.9 million. It was closely followed by the magic thriller Now You See Me, which grossed $19.5 in its second weekend, to reach a total of $61.4 million.

The fourth spot was claimed by the Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson’s comedy, The Internship, which debuted to a muted $18.1 million, far less than the 2005 collaboration of the two comedians in Wedding Crashers which opened with $33.9 million.

The film follows two washed-up salesmen (Owen and Vaughn) as they join an internship program at the giant tech company Google.

3D animated film Epic, voiced by Beyonce and Colin Farrell, placed No. 5 in its third weekend with $12.1 million, to reach a total US cume of $84.2 million.

Crossing the $200 million mark, Star Trek Into Darkness landed in the sixth spot with $11.7 million in its fourth US weekend. It also added $17.6 million overseas for international haul of $176.4 million.

Ironically, the international box office champion this weekend, After Earth, fell to the 7th spot in the US box office with only $11.7 million. The troubled picture has grossed $46.6 million since its US release.

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Will Smith and his son, the sci-fi picture enjoyed solid business overseas with $46.6 million in its opening weekend.

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