'2012' spells doom for its competition at the box office

 

The end-of-the-world epic takes in $65 million in the U.S. and Canada and $225 million worldwide. Disney's 'Christmas Carol' finishes a distant second.

Sony PicturesÂ’ "2012" is disaster director Roland Emmerich's take on a purported Maya prophecy that the world will end Dec. 21, 2012. (Columbia Pictures/Sony / July 31, 2009)

Sony Pictures' "2012," the latest end-of-the-world epic from disaster director Roland Emmerich, took in $65 million in the U.S. and Canada and an earth-shattering $160 million elsewhere for a worldwide weekend total of $225 million.
The 162-minute thriller, based on a purported Maya prophecy that the world will end Dec. 21, 2012, will easily make back its production and marketing costs for Sony long before that date rolls around. The movie cost about $200 million to make and tens of millions more to market. Most industry observers and pre-release forecasts had "2012" opening above $50 million domestically.