DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.’s “Puss in Boots” remained atop the North American box office in its second weekend, holding off several newcomers.  The animated kiddie flick featuring the voices of Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas raked in $33 million in box office receipts to maintain the top sales spot in its second week in theaters.  Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures distributed the “Shrek” franchise spin-off, which earned a $34.1 million on its opening weekend now grossing $75.5 million.

According to Anne Globe, DreamWorks Animation’s head of worldwide marketing and consumer products, the studio’s marketing plan included a two-weekend strategy and released a similar amount of advertising and push from promotional partners as the week before.  The film was also helped by good word of mouth, as the previous weekend’s combination of Halloween, the World Series, and poor weather in many parts of the country kept many from going to the movies.

“Tower Heist,” an $85 million comedy from Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures, earned $25.1 million to take second place for the weekend. The film, which stars Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy as thieves targeting a Bernie Madoff-like embezzler, performed on the lower end of Universal’s expectations, which the studio’s President of Distribution Nikki Rocco attributed to the “general malaise” in the movie-going marketplace.  The audience for “Tower Heist” leaned towards an older female demographic, with women making up 56% of moviegoers and an over-30 crowd making up 62%.

The holiday-themed A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas released by Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. Pictures opened to disappointing numbers, with an estimated $13.07 million in box office receipts this weekend.  The $20 million Kal Penn and John Cho-fronted film earned slightly less than the film’s prior installment, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, which opened in 2008.  The franchise, however, has always found most of its success in the home entertainment market, says domestic distribution executive Jeff Goldstein, who notes that the first film in the franchise only made $18.3 million in theaters but became a cult hit on DVD.  The R-rated comedy, which made 95% of its gross from 3-D showings, played well to its core audience of young males.  According to exit data, 62% of the audience was male and 73% were under the age of 35.

Rounding out the top five this weekend were the spooky Paranormal Activity 3 ($8.5 million) and Justin Timberlake’s sci-fi flick In Time, which earned $7.7 million for a fifth place finish.  Next weekend sees the release of Jack and Jill as well as Clint Eastwood’s biopic J. Edgar.
This week’s US box office top ten (studio estimates):

1. Puss in Boots – $33 million
2. Tower Heist – $25.1 million
3. A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas – $13.1 million
4. Paranormal Activity 3 – $8.5 million
5. In Time – $7.7 million
6. Footloose – $4.55 million
7. Real Steel – $3.4 million
8. The Rum Diary – $2.98 million
9. The Ides of March – $2 million
10. Moneyball – $1.9 million

The 50-year-old Spanish actor was born on August 10, 1960 in Malaga, Andalucia, Spain, to Ana Banderas and Jose Dominguez Prieto, a school teacher and a police officer. Banderas has a younger brother named, Francisco. Even though their family name if Dominguez, he still used his mother’s last name as his screen name. Banderas really wanted to be a professional soccer player but unfortunately his foot got broken, which leads to tear his dream. On the other hand, his performance in and out of the theater, eventually led him a part on the National Theater of Spain. In addition, Antonio Banderas was baptized with the real name of Jose Antonio Dominguez Banderas.

At the young age of 19, the professional career of Banderas started, when he performed in small theaters during the post-dictatorial cultural movement of Spain, which is famously known as Movida. While he was still performing in various theaters, Banderas was noticed by the Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar, who includes him in a film called, Labyrinth of Passion, which is debuted in year 1982. He then appeared in the film of Law of Desire, where he performed as a gay, which also made him first ever male-to-male kiss.

He was first introduced to the American audiences, when he appeared in the documentary entitled, Madonna: Truth or Dare. On the following year, he started on acting in some of the US films, even though he was then learning to speak in English fluently. His first ever American movie came in year 1992, when he appeared in the film called, The Mamboo Kings. The film was followed by the 1993 film of Philadelphia together with Tom Hanks.

He then appeared in various Hollywood films in year 1995, which also includes a role in a directorial film of Robert Rodriguez entitled, Desperado and in the film of Assassins, which also includes the star of Sylvester Stallone. On the following year, Banderas was included in the cast of the film called, Evita, alongside Madonna. The film was said to be an adaptation to the musical made by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. He also earned success when he portrayed the role of the masked swordsman, Zorro, in the film entitled The Mask of Zorro, in year 1998. On the other hand, it was said that Banderas was the first Spanish actor to play the role.

In year 2001, he teamed up with the film director Robert Rodriguez for the Spy Kids film trilogy. He then appeared together with Angelina Jolie in the film of Original Sin. On the following year, he starred in the final installment of the film trilogy of Once Upon A Time in Mexico, which also includes the star of Johnny Depp and Salma Hayek. In year 2005, Banderas received a star on the renowned Hollywood Walk of fame. On the other hand, Antonio Banderas was included in the cast of the horror film of The Sin I Live in, which also marked for the return of Banderas to Pedro Almodocar, who is a Spanish director who introduced his international career across the globe.

Antonio Banderas Photo Gallery