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Prometheus takes $6.7 million on opening weekend

Highly anticipated blockbuster Prometheus topped the box office in its opening weekend, grossing $6,775,006 from 467 screens.

Prometheus, which stars Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender, follows a team of explorers as they seek to uncover the origins of mankind by journeying to the darkest corners of the universe. The Fox-distributed picture, which is directed by Ridley Scott, is a prequel to the filmmaker's 1979 movie Alien.

Men in Black 3 dropped to second place, losing 40 per cent in its third weekend. The threequel took $2.1 million across 504 screens. Roadshow's What to Expect When You're Expecting ($1.74 million), Disney's The Avengers  ($1.28 million) and Paramount's The Dictator ($755,170) rounded out the top five.

Meanwhile relationship comedy Friends with Kids debuted in sixth place for Roadshow, earning just $479,904 from 150 screens. The film, which is almost a Bridesmaid's reunion – both movies star Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm – has received lukewarm reviews for debut writer/director Jennifer Westfeldt.

Previews for Australian writer/director Craig Lahiff's film Swerve screened over the weekend. The crime thriller, which stars Emma Booth and Jason Clarke, took $24,487 from 16 screens for local distributor Jump Street.

Box office reports for Australian film Careless Love have been slow to come in but have been stronger than initially reported by the MPDAA. Producer Jenny Day said the film, which is still in limited release, has now grossed $49,377.09 after four weeks.

Australian Films at the Box Office 2012