'Green Lantern' lights box-office path

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

Green Lantern glowed brightly enough to rule the box office this weekend, but the DC Comics legend couldn't muster a blinding debut.

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  Warner Bros. via AP

  Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds, was No. 1 at the box office this weekend.

Warner Bros. via AP

Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds, was No. 1 at the box office this weekend.

Lantern lit theaters for $52.7 million, according to studio estimates from box-office tracking firm Hollywood.com.

While the opening was plenty to capture the No. 1 spot, it fell below the projections of some analysts, who expected the family-friendly comic book adaptation to do $60 million.

The summer is rife with superheroes. Thor did a healthy $176 million in May. But since, comic-book heroes have lost some momentum. X-Men: First Class has done $119.9 million in three weeks, a subpar performance for a $160 million movie.

"This is the third superhero film in seven weeks," says Gitesh Pandya of boxofficeguru.com. "Many action fans may have comic-book fatigue."

Lantern wasn't helped by reviews, which pummeled the Ryan Reynolds movie. Just one in four critics recommended the film, according to rottentomatoes.com.

Super 8, the thriller by J.J. Abrams, dropped just 40% from its No. 1 debut to take second place with $21.3 million.

The Jim Carrey comedy Mr. Popper's Penguins met the low end of expectations, taking third place with $18.2 million.

X-Men: First Class was fourth with $11.5 million, followed by The Hangover Part II with $9.6 million.

Final figures are due Monday.

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