"The Hunger Games" continues to rule North America box office

 　　LOS ANGELES, April 1 (Xinhua) -- "The Hunger Games" stayed atop the North America box office chart this weekend, garnering¹ 61.1 million U.S. dollars in ticket receipts which successfully helped the latest Lionsgate actioner to fend² off a pair of new films.

　　Widely regarded as the real first big blockbuster of the year, "The Hunger Games" saw its sales at 4,137 locations in the U.S. and Canada dropped by 60 percent, a dramatic slide for the independent filmmaking firm's tentpole film. However, the film continued drawing moviegoers including the Republican Presidential candidate Mitt³ Romney and his family to theaters across the region, thanks to its excellent word-of-mouth and aggressive marketing⁴ in the leadup to the March 23 release.

　　The Gary Ross film, which stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, is on track for 251 million dollars in ticket stubs during 10 days of exhibition.

　　A pair of films, Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures'3D action fantasy sequel "Wrath⁵ Of The Titans" and Relativity Media's Snow White comedy "Mirror Mirror," have failed to dethrone the Lionsgate blockbuster.

　　"Wrath Of The Titans," a sequel to the 2010 fantasy "Clash Of The Titans," settled for second place with 34.2 million dollars in projected ticket sales from 3,545 venues⁶. This is a far cry from the Warner Bro. original's 61.2 million dollar opening weekend, although it is in line with the executives' expectations. The film stars Sam Worthington and Hollywood veteran actor Liam Neeson, and deals with how Perseus is called once again to rescue his father Zeus, overthrow⁷ the Titans and save mankind.

　　"Mirror Mirror" is estimated to sell 19 million dollars worth of tickets in 3,603 theaters, finishing in third place. The film is directed by "Immortals⁸" helmsman Tarsem Singh and stars Lily Collins and Academy Award winner Julia Roberts.

　　Both of the debuts⁹ received a "B+" CinemaScore while the film critics reviewed the films with mixed verdicts.

　　Rounding out the 10 most-popular films in North America this weekend were "21 Jump Street" (15 million dollars), "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" (8 million dollars), "John Carter" (2 million dollars), "Salmon¹⁰ Fishing In The Yemen" (debuting with 1.3 million dollars), "Act Of Valor¹¹" (1 million dollars), "A Thousand Words" (915,000 dollars), and "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" (835,000 dollars).

1 garnering   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And at the forefront was Bryant, garnering nothing but praise from his coaches and teammates. 而站在最前沿的就是科比，他也因此获得了教练和队友的赞美。 来自互联网

2 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

3 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

6 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

7 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

8 immortals   

不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 )； 永生不朽者

参考例句：

• Nobody believes in the myth about human beings becoming immortals. 谁也不相信人能成仙的神话。
• Shakespeare is one of the immortals. 莎士比亚是不朽的人物之一。

9 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

10 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

11 valor   

n.勇气，英勇

参考例句：

• Fortitude is distinct from valor.坚韧不拔有别于勇猛。
• Frequently banality is the better parts of valor.老生常谈往往比大胆打破常规更为人称道。