'Oz' proves 'Great and Powerful' at box office - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports
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(Courtesy Walt Disney Pictures)
By Alan Duke
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Families and couples flocked to theaters to see Disney's "Oz the Great and Powerful," raising opening weekend ticket sales around the world to $150.2 million, according to box office estimates released Sunday.
The film stars James Franco as a carnival magician swept into the land of Oz by a tornado, a prequel to the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," which starred a teenage Judy Garland.
"Oz" sold an estimated $80.3 million in tickets at U.S. cinemas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to Exhibitor Relations, a company that gathers box office estimates as they are self-reported by studios.
Another $69.9 million in box office receipts were collected outside the United States, bringing the global take to $150.2 million, the company estimated.
The movie and its promotion cost Disney about $300 million, according to several media reports.
The success of "Oz" dwarfed "Jack The Giant Slayer," which was the No. 2 U.S. movie, bringing in $10 million in it's second weekend.
-- CNN's David Daniel contributed to this report.
