LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sandra Bullock took the crown at the weekend box office in North America for the first time in 10 years with her latest romantic comedy, according to preliminary sales data issued Saturday.
"The Proposal" sold $12.4 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada Friday, said Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Pictures.
The Proposal is an American romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher. The screenplay was written by Pete Chiarelli and stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. The film was released on June 18, 2009 in Australia and June 19 in North America by Touchstone Pictures.
Plot synopsis
Spoiler Alert Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is the executive editor-in-chief of a book publishing company, Colden Books, who forces her assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in order to avoid being deported to Canada. He grudgingly accepts, under the condition that he is promoted to the position of editor. When the government investigates, the two are forced to spend the weekend with his parents in Alaska in order to sell the lie. The family suggests they could marry the same weekend, and they reluctantly accept. They start to fall genuinely in love as they spend more and more time together. Because of this, during the wedding ceremony, Margaret decides she cannot do this to Andrew and confesses the business arrangement in front of everyone--including the immigration officer handling their case. She is then told that she has 24 hours to get back to Canada, and thus goes back to New York to pack her things. Upon doing so, however, Andrew shows up at the office and confesses his love for her in front of the entire office staff, proposing marriage all over again.
The film ended the two-week reign of the bachelor-party comedy "The Hangover," which earned $8.5 million Friday, according to Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. Pictures.
Also reporting $8.5 million was the new Jack Black prehistoric comedy "Year One," which was released by Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures.
A clearer picture will emerge Sunday when the studios issue three-day estimates.
Bullock, 44, stars in "The Proposal" as a book executive who fakes an engagement to her lowly assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to avoid deportation to her native Canada. Inevitable hilarity ensues when she meets his parents. Reviews were mixed at best.
She last went to No. 1 in 1999 with "Forces of Nature," which co-starred Ben Affleck. Her most recent wide releases, 2007's "Premonition" and 2006's "The Lake House," ended their runs with about $50 million each. She generally does better with romantic comedies such as "Miss Congeniality" ($107 million) and "Two Weeks Notice" ($93 million).
