"The Hunger Games" expands box office lead to 4th weekend

 　　LOS ANGELES, April 15 (Xinhua) -- "The Hunger Games" managed to expand its box office lead in North America to fourth weekend, beating out a pair of new films with a considerable lead.

　　The Lionsgate juggernaut is estimated to fetch 21.5 million U.S. dollars in ticket sales, or 35 percent down from last weekend, which is poised¹ to lead the box office derby for four weekends in a row. The PG-13 Suzanne Collins' adaptation is on track for a 337- million-dollar gross during four weeks' screening while scale of venues² has decreased by 221 to 3,916.

　　The 20th Century Fox's comedy "The Three Stooges" debuted³ in 3, 477 locations in the U.S. and Canada, garnering⁴ 17.1 million dollars to finish in the No.2 slot. The shooting of the PG-rated film, on a 30-million-dollar budget, took more than a decade to begin. It also experienced casting problems, as Jim Carrey, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro were at one point attached to star the trio of Larry, Mo and Curly.

　　Exit polls showed that 58 percent of those who have seen the film was male and 52 percent was over 25 years old, indicating that the Farrelly brothers adaptation of slapstick shorts appeals mainly to moviegoers who are familiar with the mid-20th century shorts. The film earned a "B-" CinemaScore.

　　Movie critics viewed the film in a positive light, and famous critics even lauded⁵ its merits. Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" described it as "[A] funny, good-hearted resuscitation⁶ of Hollywood's beloved lowbrow lunkheads."

　　Lionsgate's R-rated horror film "The Cabin In The Woods" finished in No. 3 slot with 14.9 million dollars in ticket sales. The horror flick⁷, which has built solid words-of-mouth and generated strong reviews from leading critics, stars Chris Hemsworth and Richard Jenkins. It centers on how five friends who go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods are caught in a requisite⁸ fright. Lionsgate is hoping to gain much from writer Joss Whedon's fan base. The film received a "C" CinemaScore.

　　Rounding out the top 10 most-popular movies in the United States and Canada this weekend were "Titanic⁹ 3-D" (11.6 million dollars), "American Reunion" (10.6 million dollars), "Mirror Mirror" (7 million dollars), "Wrath¹⁰ Of The Titans" (6.9 million dollars), "21 Jump Street" (6.8 million dollars), "Lockout" ( debuting¹¹ with 6.3 million dollars), and "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" (3 million dollars).

1 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

2 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

3 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

4 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

5 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

6 resuscitation   

n.复活

参考例句：

• Despite attempts at resuscitation,Mr Lynch died a week later in hospital.虽经全力抢救，但林奇先生一周以后还是在医院去世了。
• We gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage.我们对他进行了口对口复苏救治和心脏按摩。

7 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

8 requisite   

adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the requisite qualifications for the job.他不具备这工作所需的资格。
• Food and air are requisite for life.食物和空气是生命的必需品。

9 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

10 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。

11 debuting   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• New debuting analog thermostat welding machine, easy to operate. 新登场模拟式调温电焊台，操作简单。
• With the new tablet device that is debuting next week, Apple Inc. 苹果公司的新型平板电脑将于下周发布。