The long-awaited biopic Notorious debuted at No. 4 over the weekend with more than $20 million in box office sales.Notorious, a biopic of slain rap artist Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G., grossed an estimated $21.5 million from 1,638 theaters to post the best per-location average -- $13,126 -- of the weekend. Film was distributed by Fox but produced and marketed by Fox Searchlight. Opening is the biggest ever for the specialty unit.Notorious beat box-office expectations, said Chris Aronson, senior vice president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox. Aronson said the studio expected a strong showing because of Notorious B.I.G.'s prominence, but this weekend's competition appeared especially strong. The estimated $21.5-million three-day gross for Notorious showed it was more popular than expected beyond African American audiences. We crossed over, which speaks volumes about his impact as a cultural icon," Aronson said. (Los Angeles Times)
