Max Payne was weekend’s biggest box office hit in USA

Max Payne, a movie based on a video game created in Finland, was the weekend’s biggest box office hit in the United States, grossing USD 18 million in ticket sales, which is still rather moderate compared to the real blockbusters.
      Nevertheless, the action feature starring Mark Wahlberg beat off for example Oliver Stone’s President George W. Bush biopic W., and the Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson comedy vehicle Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
      Max Payne premiered simultaneously in the United States and Finland.
     
In Finland the film attracted 17,000 viewers over the weekend, but only managed the runner-up spot in the box office takings.
      It was beaten by Niko & The Way to the Stars, a Finnish animated film about a young reindeer’s adventures in magical Lapland.
      Niko no doubt benefited from the fact that Finnish school children were enjoying their autumn break last week.
     
The original video game, a third-person shoot'em'up developed by the Finnish company Remedy Entertainment, was first published in July 2001.
      A sequel was released in 2003, and so far the Max Payne games have sold around seven million copies worldwide.


Links:
  Max Payne (the Video Game)
  Max Payne (the movie - official site)
  IMDB: Max Payne
  Max Payne (Wikipedia)
  Niko & The Way to the Stars